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THE  TEACHER    EXPOUNDED  A  CLASSIC  AT  EVENTIDE    UNDER  A  TREE- 
Frontispiece. 


CHINESE  NIGHTS' 
ENTERTAINMENT 


FORTY   STORIES   TOLD   BY   ALMOND-EYED   FOLK 
ACTORS   IN    THE    ROMANCE   OF 


THE  STRAYED  ARROW 


BY 

ADELE   M.  FIELDE 


[LLUSTRATED    by    CHINESE    ARTISTS 


"  SPOKEN   WORDS    VANISH  :    WRITTEN    WORDS   ENDURE " 

Chinese  Proverb 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

K 

IRD    STREET  24    BEDF 

%\t  Jiiticlicrbockcr  ^rcss 


NEW    YORK  LONDON 

27    WEST    TVVKNTY-THIRD    STREET  24    BEDFORD  STREET,    STRAND 


GTL33£ 

F-5 


COPYRIGHT,  1893,  BY 

ADELE    M.    FIELDE 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
By  Adele  M.  Fielde 


Electrotyped,  Printed  and  Bound  by 

Ubc  Tknicftevbocftcr  press,  IRew  l^erft 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


TO 


MY    BELOVED    FRIENDS 

WOMEN     OF     FAR     CATHAY 

MY     OLDEN    COMPANIONS    IN  SERIOUS    WORK 

AND     IN    NEEDED     RECREATION 


832814 


PREFACE. 

T^HESE  tales  have  been  heard  or  overheard  by 
the  writer,  as  they  were  told  in  the  Swatow  ver- 
nacular, by  persons  who  could  not  read.  They  and 
their  kind  have  furnished  mental  entertainment  for 
her  during  many  nights  when  travelling  in  a  slow 
native  boat,  or  sitting  in  a  dim  native  hut,  with 
almond-eyed  women  and  children,  in  the  eastern 
corner  of  the  Kwangtung  province,  in  Southern 
China.  She  is  not  aware  that  any  of  these  stories 
have  before  been  rendered  into  a  European  tongue. 
They  have  been  selected  from  among  many,  not  less 
interesting,  but  less  intelligible  to  those  who  are  un- 
familiar with  the  beliefs  and  customs  of  The  Middle 
Kingdom. 

The  romance  of  The  Strayed  Arrow,  on  which  the 
other  forty  stories  are  strung,  as  beads  on  a  thread, 
runs  through  the  volume  to  an  Oriental  climax. 

The  illustrations  were  prepared,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  author,  by  native  artists  in  the  school  of 
the  celebrated  painter,  Go  Leng,  at  Swatow. 

A.  M.  F. 

New  York,  1893. 


FORTY   FOLK-STORIES 


PAGE 


The  Five  Queer  Brothers 5 

The  Three  Talismans 9 

The  Origin  of  Ants 18 

The  Mistake  of  the  Apes 27 

The  Moon-Cake 29 

The  Fool  of  the  Family 31 

He  Tried  to  be  Like  His  Brother-in-Law   -         -         .  ss 

A  Dreadful  Boar 37 

The  Two  Melons 41 

The  Blind  Boy's  Fall 44 

The  Fairy  Serpent 45 

What  the  Birds  Said 51 

The  Man  in  a  Shell 57 

The  Young  Head  of  the  Family 60 

Prospect  and  Retrospect       .         ...         .         .         .  71 

A  Foreordained  Match 75 

Marrying  a  Simpleton 80 

Baling  with  a  Sieve 87 

The  Widow  and  the  Sagacious  Magistrate         .         .  92 

A  Lawyer  as  a  Debtor .102 

The  Singing  Prisoner 106 

Self-Convicted 107 

The  Ladle  that  Fell  from  the  Moon          .         .         .  m 

A  Wife's  Vengeance 115 

Stolen  Garlic 123 

Two  Frugal  Men 129 

The  Most  Frugal  of  Men      .        .        .        .        .        .  132 

vii 


Vlll 


Forty  Folk-Stories. 


PAGE. 

Misapplied  Wit 136 

Similar  Diseases 

141 

A  Dream  Inspired    . 

146 

A  Fortuitous  Application     . 

147 

Jean  Valjean  in  Cathay 

154 

A  Polite  Idiosyncrasy    . 

•              159 

Verified  Predictions 

163 

The  Three  Sworn  Brothers  . 

168 

The  Peasant-Girl's  Prisoner 

171 

Crabs  in  Plenty 

177 

False  Economy 

.              181 

The  Thriftless  Wife 

185 

A  Wife  with  two  Husbands  . 

188 

LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

The    Teacher    Expounded    a    Classic    at    Eventide 

UNDER  A  Tree  Frontispiece 

Archery  Practice 3 

Eight  Genii 11 

A  Shoe-Shop 19 

An  Apothecary's  Shop ,  .         -25 

A  Barber  Shaving  the  Head 35 

The  Mender  of  Tubs 47 

Musicians 55 

A  Young   Girl   Came   from  the  Fields,  Riding  on  a 

Water-Buffalo 63 

A  Mandarin  in  His  Sedan-Chair 69 

A  Go-Between  Comes  with  a  Proposal  of  Marriage   .  77 

Before  the  Magistrate 93 

Ploughing 103 

Women  at  a  Shrine 109 

The  Lotus-Pool 119 

A  Flower-Show .125 

The  Bridge 137 

Consulting  a  Soothsayer 143 

A  Beggar  and  His  Blind  Wife 149 

A  Wheeled  Chair 155 

A  Blind  Fortune-Teller 165 

Peasant-Girl  and  Student 173 

Father  and  Father-in-Law 179 

A  Man  Returns  from  Abroad 183 

Worshipping  at  the  Grave  of  an  Ancestor          .        .  191 


THE   STRAYED   ARROW. 


IN  the  village  of  Grand  Spur,  there  lived  a  poor  couple, 
who  had  no  children  save  one  daughter,  named  Pearl. 
This  little  maid  troubled  her  doting  parents  by  begging 
that  she  might  learn  to  read.  They  found  great  difficulty 
in  satisfying  her  desire.  They  were  themselves  incompetent 
to  teach  her,  and  none  of  their  neighbors  were  more  learned  ; 
they  could  not  afford  to  hire  a  tutor  for  her,  and  there  was 
no  school  in  the  village  ;  it  was  not  customary  to  instruct 
girls  in  letters,  and  girls  never  associated  with  boys.  But 
after  much  thought,  under  her  entreaties,  they  solved  the 
problem  by  dressing  her  in  boys'  clothes,  finding  lodging 
for  her  with  her  maternal  grandmother,  in  a  neighboring 
town,  and  sending  her  to  the  private  class  of  a  learnec^  5pki-\ 
ten  There,  as  a  boy,  she  daily  pursued  her  studies  with 
boys  of  her  own  age,  winning  praise  from  her  tea(;h<ec  b^ 
diligence  in  learning,  and  gaining  the  admiration'  of  her 
classmates  by  skill  in  athletic  sports,  particularly  in  hand- 
ling the  bow.  She  always  sat  at  a  desk  with  a  studious, 
generous  boy,  named  Golden  Branch,  who  was  her  chief 
companion  in  work  and  play,  and  who  became  the  unwitting 
possessor  of  her  heart. 

The  special  plague  of  the  two  friends  was  a  rude,  sly 
boy,  called  Grouse,  who  often  interrupted  them  in  study 
hours,   and    sometimes    spoiled    their   sport    in    playtime. 


The  Strayed  Arrow. 


They  three,  with  a  dozen  other  boys,  went  to  the  school- 
room before  daylight,  and  conned  their  lessons  silently,  so 
as  not  to  waken  their  teacher,  who  slept  in  an  adjoining- 
room.  At  dawn,  the  eldest  pupil  knocked  at  the  teacher's 
door,  and  invited  him  to  hear  recitations.  When  the 
teacher  was  ready,  each  pupil  in  turn  came  and  stood  with 
his  back  to  the  teacher  and  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  re- 
peated from  memory  a  portion  of  the  classics,  after  which 
his  forenoon  lesson  was  twice  read  to  him  by  the  teacher. 
Then  the  boys  all  went  home  to  breakfast,  eating  boiled  rice 
and  salt  fish  from  a  bowl,  with  a  pair  of  chopsticks  held  in 
the  right  hand.  After  breakfast  the  boys  returned  to  school,, 
swept  and  dusted  the  room,  washed  the  teacher's  dishes,  and 
then  read,  all  aloud  and  each  at  his  own  task,  till  he  was 
called  to  recite  again.  Writing  followed,  and  while  the 
younger  boys  sat  at  their  desks  tracing  letters,  with  brushes, 
on  translucent  brown  paper,  the  teacher  explained  to  the 
older  pupils  the  portions  of  the  classics  that  they  had  that 
morning  committed  to  memory.  When  the  sun  heared  the 
meridian,  the  teacher  wrote  upon  a  slip  of  red  paper  the 
subject  upon  which  each  boy  was  to  compose  a  couplet,  and 
pasted  the  paper  on  the  wall  beside  the  door.     This  closed 

,tJife;fQrenoon  session,  and  the  boys  went  to  their  noonday 
meal   b(  jice,   stewed  meats,  and  minced    vegetables,   and 

^or{c^cl  9rr  played  awhile,  meditating  upon  the  subject  pre- 
scribed. It  might  be  an  admonition,  such  as  "■  Go  out  with 
awe,  come  in  with  fear  "  ;  "  To  a  parent  be  perfectly  obedi- 
ent, to  the  sovereign  be  completely  loyal "  ;  or  it  might  be 
a  proverb,  such  as  ''  A  polished  up  speech,  and  a  corrected 
manuscript,  are  not  nearly  so  neat  as  the  first  form  " ;  or 
*'  Tell  a  stranger  only  three  tenths  of  what  you  know  "  ;  or  it 
might  be  a  passage  from  an  ancient  writer,  such  as  "  In  hew- 
ing an  axe-handle,  the  pattern  is  not  far  off  "  ;  or  ''A  bad 
year  cannot  prove  the  cause  of  death  to  him  whose  stores 


ARCHERY  PRACTICE. 

3 


>        •««-•€       r 
^     .     r    •    •,    r       r 


■•  f         »      r' 


The  Five  Queer  Brothers, 


of  grain  are  large  "  ;  or  it  might  be  any  terse  saying,  sanc- 
tified by  antiquity.  On  returning  to  the  school-room,  in  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  boys  wrote  out  the  couplets 
they  had  composed,  and  took  them,  one  by  one,  to  the 
teacher  for  comment  and  correction.  They  then  read  aloud 
till  the  sun  was  low,  when  they  went  to  their  suppers  of  rice 
and  boiled  vegetables,  sauntered  with  their  friends  in  the 
twilight,  and  slept  before  the  curfew  gun  sounded  from  the 
city  wall.  The  older  boys  sometimes  returned  to  the  court, 
where  the  teacher  expounded  a  classic  at  eventide  under  a 
tree,  and  they  often  spent  the  evening  together  in  the  school- 
room, sitting  around  a  lamp  of  pea-nut  oil,  with  a  wick  of 
bulrush  pith,  studying,  sipping  tea,  eating  cakes,  or  telling 
stories.  Their  teacher  frequently  joined  them,  and  one 
evening,  excusing  himself  for  repeating  a  story  that  had  no 
moral,  he  told  them  about 


THE  FIVE  QUEER  BROTHERS. 

An  old  v^oman  had  five  grown-up  sons  that 
looked  just  alike.  The  eldest  could  gulp  up  the 
ocean  at  a  mouthful ;  the  second  was  hard  enough 
to  nick  steel  ;  the  third  had  extensible  legs  ;  the 
fourth  was  unaffected  by  fire  ;  the  fifth  lived  without 
breathing.  They  all  concealed  their  peculiar  traits, 
and   their  neighbors  did  not  know  they  were  queer. 

The  eldest  supported  the  family  by  fishing,  going 
alone  to  the  sea,  and  bringing  back  loads  of  spoil. 
The  neighbors  often  besought  him  to  teach  their 
sons  how  to  fish,  and  he  at  last  let  all  their  boys  go 


The  Strayed  Arrow 


with  him,  one  day,  to  learn  his  art.  On  reaching 
the  shore,  he  sucked  the  sea  into  his  mouth,  and 
directed  the  boys  to  the  dry  bottom,  to  collect  the 
fish.  When  he  was  tired  of  holding  the  water,  he 
beckoned  to  the  boys  to  return,  but  they  were  play- 
ing amongst  strange  objects,  and  paid  no  heed  to 
him.  When  he  could  contain  the  sea  no  longer,  he 
had  to  let  it  flow  back  into  its  former  basin,  and  all 
the  boys  were  drowned.  As  he  went  homeward,  he 
passed  the  doors  of  the  parents,  who  inquired  how 
many  fish  their  sons  had  caught,  and  how  long  they 
would  be  in  coming  back.  He  told  them  the  facts, 
yet  they  would  not  excuse  him,  and  they  dragged 
him  before  the  mao^istrate  to  account  for  the  loss  of 
their  children.  He  defended  himself  by  saying  that 
he  had  not  invited  the  boys  to  go  with  him,  and  had 
consented  to  their  going  only  when  the  parents 
had  repeatedly  urged  him  ;  that,  after  the  boys  were 
on  the  ocean-bed,  he  had  done  his  utmost  to  induce 
them  to  come  ashore  ;  that  he  had  held  the  water  as 
long  as  he  could,  and  had  then  put  it  in  the  sea-basin 
solely  because  nothing  else  would  contain  it.  Not- 
withstanding this  defence,  the  judge  decided  that, 
since  he  took  the  boys  away  and  did  not  bring  them 
back,  he  was  guilty  of  murder,  and  sentenced  him  to 
decapitation.      He  entreated  leave  to  pay,  before  his 


The  Five  Queer  Brothers. 


execution,  one  visit  to  his  aged  mother,  and  this  was 
granted.  He  went  alone  and  told  his  brothers  of  his 
doom,  and  the  second  brother  returned  in  his  stead 
to  the  judge,  thanked  him  for  having  given  him  per- 
mission to  perform  a  duty  required  by  filial  piety, 
and  said  he  was  then  ready  to  die.  He  knelt  with 
bowed  head,  and  the  headsman  brought  the  knife 
down  across  the  back  of  his  neck,  but  the  knife  was 
nicked  and  the  neck  was  left  unscathed.  A  second 
knife,  and  a  third  of  finer  steel,  were  brought  and  tried 
by  headsmen  who  were  accustomed  to  sever  heads 
clean  off  at  one  stroke.  Having  spoiled  their  best 
blades  without  marring  his  neck,  they  took  him  back 
to  prison  and  informed  the  judge  that  the  sentence 
could  not  be  executed. 

The  judge  then  decreed  that  he  should  be  dropped 
into  the  sea  which  covered  his  victims.  When  he 
heard  this  decision,  he  said  that  he  took  leave  of  his 
mother  supposing  that  his  head  was  to  be  cut  off, 
and  that,  if  he  was  to  be  drowned,  he  must  go  to  her 
and  make  known  his  fate,  and  get  her  blessing  anew. 
Permission  being  given,  he  went  and  told  his  brothers 
what  had  happened,  and  the  third  brother  took  the 
place  of  the  second,  and  presented  himself  before  the 
judge  as  the  criminal  that  was  to  be  sunk  in  the  sea. 
He  was   carried  far   from   shore    and    thrown   over- 


8  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


board,  but  he  stretched  his  legs  till  his  feet  touched 
bottom,  and  he  stood  with  his  head  in  the  air.  They 
hauled  him  aboard  and  took  him  farther  from  land,  but 
still  his  extensible  legs  supported  him  above  the  waters. 
Then  they  sailed  to  mid-ocean,  and  cast  him  into  its 
greatest  depths,  but  his  legs  still  lengthened  so  that 
he  was  not  drowned.  They  brought  him  back  to  the 
judge,  reported  what  had  been  done,  and  said  that  some 
other  method  of  destroying  him  must  be  followed. 

He  was  then  condemned  to  death  by  being  boiled 
in  oil  ;  and  while  the  caldron  was  being  heated,  he 
begged  and  obtained  leave  to  go  and  tell  his  mother 
of  his  late  survival,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
was  soon  to  be  taken  off.  His  brothers  having  heard 
the  latest  judgment,  the  fourth  one  went  to  bear  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  and  was  lowered  into  the  kettle  of 
boiling  oil,  where  he  disported  himself  as  if  in  a  tepid 
bath,  and  even  asked  the  executioners  to  stir  up  the 
fire  a  little  to  increase  the  warmth.  Finding  that  he 
could  not  be  fried,  he  was  remanded  to  prison. 

Then  the  populace,  the  bereaved  parents,  and  the 
magistrate  joined  in  effort  to  invent  a  sure  method 
of  putting  him  to  death.  Water,  fire,  and  sword  all 
having  failed,  they  finally  fixed  upon  smothering  him 
in  a  vast  cream-cake.  The  whole  country  round 
made  contributions  of    fiour  for  the   tough   pastry. 


The  Three  Tahsmans. 


sugar  for  the  viscid  filling,  and  bricks  for  a  huge 
oven  ;  and  it  was  made  and  baked  on  a  plain  outside 
the  city  walls.  Meanwhile  the  prisoner  was  allowed 
to  go  and  bid  his  mother  farewell,  and  the  fifth 
brother  secretly  became  his  substitute.  When  the 
cake  was  done,  a  multitude  of  people,  with  oxen, 
horses,  and  ropes,  dragged  it  to  the  execution 
ground,  and  within  it  the  culprit  was  interred.  As 
he  was  able  to  exist  without  air,  he  rested  peacefully 
till  the  next  midnight.  Then  he  safely  crawled  forth, 
and  returned  to  his  home,  where  he  dwelt  happily  for 
many  years  with  his  remarkable  brothers. 

The  boys  were  so  pleased  with  this  tale  that  Grouse 
begged  the  teacher  to  tell  another,  without  a  moral,  and  he 
consented  to  do  so  the  following  evening,  on  condition  that 
they  would  each  tell  one  in  turn.  They  all  agreed  to  this, 
and  the  next  nightfall,  the  tea  being  infused  and  set  smoking 
in  the  middle  of  the  square  red  table,  with  the  tiny,  saucer- 
less  cups  well  rinsed  and  ready  to  receive  it,  the  boys  drew 
up  the  benches  and  sat  near  the  teacher's  straight-backed 
arm-chair,  and  he  told  them  the  story  of 

THE  THREE  TALISMANS.      - 

There  was  once  a  pious  rich  man,  who  spent 
his  time  and  used  his  wealth  in  worship  of  the 
gods.  As  he  gave  his  mind  to  methods  of 
obeisance,  and  his  money  to  the  purchase  of  obla- 


lo  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


tions,  he,  in  the  course  of  years,  became  poor,  and 
was  obliged  to  consider  how  he  should  support  his 
wife  and  his  three  young  sons.  When  he  found  that 
he  could  get  no  lucrative  employment  near  home,  he 
sold  all  his  property  except  his  house,  and  embarked 
in  a  trading  expedition  to  a  distant  country.  On  the 
voyage  his  junk  was  wrecked,  his  goods  were  lost, 
and  he  was  cast  destitute  upon  an  island  that  had 
but  few  inhabitants.  From  these  he  begged  food 
and  raiment,  but  no  one  showed  compassion  on  him 
except  an  apparent  outcast,  who  gave  him  a  hat,  a 
cloak,  and  a  basket,  telling  him  that  the  hat,  when 
held  before  his  breast,  would  render  him  invisible  ; 
the  cloak,  extended  by  his  arms,  would  enable  him 
to  fly  over  water ;  and  the  basket,  when  tapped  by 
his  fingers,  would  fill  with  gems.  He  took  the  gifts, 
and  found  that  they  had  the  virtues  described.  The 
hat  permitted  him  to  partake  unseen  of  the  best 
cheer  in  any  house ;  the  cloak  carried  him  across 
seas ;  and  the  basket  furnished  him  with  means  of 
supplying  all  his  other  needs. 

On  reaching  home,  he  learned  that  his  wife  had 
died  during  his  long  absence.  His  three  sons  had 
grown  tall,  wise,  and  comely,  and  the  fond  father 
secretly  used  his  three  talismans  for  their  benefit,  so 
that  they  soon  had  vast  wealth  in  land,  houses,  and 


EIGHT    GENII. 
II 


The  Three  Tahsmans.  13 


coin.  After  several  years,  when  he  knew  that  he 
was  about  to  die  from  old  age,  he  called  his  sons  to 
his  bedside,  and  gave  to  each  a  talisman.  To  the 
eldest  he  gave  the  cloak,  to  the  second  the  hat,  and 
to  the  youngest  and  best  beloved  he  gave  the  basket. 
To  each  son  he  pointed  out  the  dangers  incurred  by 
a  misuse  of  his  possession,  and  upon  the  youngest, 
especially,  he  urged  the  necessity  for  labor  and 
frugality,  as  a  means  of  developing  a  correct  char- 
acter. The  young  man  listened  respectfully  to  his 
fathers  exhortation,  and  declared  that,  while  he 
would  carefully  heed  it,  he  would  also,  by  means  of 
his  basket,  win  a  princess  in  marriage. 

After  the  old  man's  funeral,  the  youngest  son  went 
away  to  the  capital,  sought  out  the  portion  of  the 
palace  occupied  by  the  emperor  s  beautiful  daughter, 
secured  the  attention  of  a  handmaiden,  and  sent 
word  to  the  princess  that  he  had  gems  of  extraordi- 
nary size  and  beauty  which  he  wished  to  lay  before 
her  eyes.  The  maid  gave  such  a  glowing  account  of 
the  jewels  that  the  princess  sent  her  out  to  bring 
them  to  her,  and  was  so  pleased  on  beholding  them 
that  she  kept  them  all,  with  the  basket  that  held 
them,  and  returned  to  the  owner  a  sum  of  money 
which  she  thought  a  sufficient  compensation  for 
them.     As  there  was  no  witness  to  the  transaction, 


14  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  young  man  asked  in  vain  for  the  return  of  his 
basket,  and  was  finally  obliged  to  go  away  without 
it,  to  avoid  being  arrested  as  a  disturber  of  the  im- 
perial peace.  His  means  of  living  being  gone,  he 
begged  his  way  over  the  long  road  homeward,  told 
his  brothers  what  had  happened,  and  besought  them 
to  lend  him  the  hat  and  cloak,  that  he  might  go  back 
and  recover  his  lost  treasure.  After  making  many 
objections  against  lending  their  goods  to  one  who 
had  proved  incapable  of  keeping  his  own,  they 
yielded  to  his  arguments,  and  entrusted  to  him  their 
talismans,  and  he  went  again  to  the  capital.  There 
he  haunted  the  doors  of  the  palace,  awaiting  oppor- 
tunity to  steal  in  and  find  his  basket ;  but  he  was 
discovered  at  a  moment  when  he  had  his  hat  on  his 
head  instead  of  before  his  breast,  and  being  recog- 
nized as  the  man  who  had  formerly  been  trouble- 
some, he  was  seized,  stripped,  beaten,  and  driven 
beyond  the  gates.  Bruised,  despairing,  and  ashamed 
to  return  to  his  brothers,  he  wandered  off  to  the 
deep  glens  of  the  mountains.  There  he  became 
famished,  and  looked  about  for  something  to  satisfy 
his  hunger.  He  perceived  two  clumps  of  banana 
trees,  with  two  bunches  of  fruit,  the  one  bunch 
yellow  and  ripe,  the  other  bunch  green  and  shrivelled. 
He  at  once  plucked  and  ate  a  ripe  banana,  but  he 


The  Three  TaHsmans.  i  5 


had  no  sooner  done  so  than  his  head  began  to 
ache,  and,  on  putting  up  his  hand,  he  felt  a  horn 
growing  from  his  forehead.  The  horn  grew  fast, 
curled  among  the  trees,  and  fastened  him  tightly 
to  the  spot.  The  horror  of  the  situation  was 
extreme,  but  did  not  prevent  his  becoming 
hungry  again  ;  so  when  he  could  no  longer 
endure  starvation,  he  plucked  and  ate  another  ripe 
banana,  with  the  same  consequence.  He  then  had  a 
pair  of  long  crooked  horns,  that  he  could  neither 
break  off  nor  tear  from  his  skull.  Fearing  to  eat 
more  of  fruit  which  produced  such  excrescences,  he 
suffered  hunger  as  long  as  he  could  while  fruit  was 
within  reach,  and  then  he  plucked  and  ate  one  of  the 
green  bananas.  No  sooner  had  he  done  this  than  one 
horn  began  to  dwindle,  and  then  disappeared.  He 
then  ate  another  green  banana,  and  the  other  horn 
also  disappeared.  Having  recovered  his  natural  con- 
dition, he  bethought  himself  that,  by  making  use  of 
fruit  having  such  qualities,  he  might  perhaps  regain 
his  lost  goods.  He  thereupon  took  two  of  each  sort, 
returned  to  the  palace  disguised  as  an  aged  traveller, 
and  caused  the  princess  to  be  informed  that  he  had 
come  from  genii-land  with  a  peculiar  fruit  which 
would  give  perpetual  youth  to  whomsoever  ate  it. 
The  princess  sent  her  handmaid  to  negotiate  for  the 


1 6  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


fruit,  and  the  handmaid,  thinking  it  would  be  well  for 
her  to  remain  young  along  with  her  mistress,  bought 
the  two  yellow  bananas,  one  of  which  she  concealed 
in  her  sleeve,  while  she  carried  the  other  to  the 
princess.  The  princess  lost  no  time  in  devouring  the 
fruit,  and,  while  she  was  thus  engaged,  the  hand- 
maiden swallowed  hers  on  the  way  down  stairs.  A 
long  horn  sprang  instantly  from  the  head  of  the 
mistress  and  coiled  among  the  posts  of  the  divan  on 
which  she  sat.  A  similar  horn  issued  from  the  head 
of  the  maid  and  fastened  her  to  the  banisters  of  the 
stairs  she  was  descending.  The  screams  of  the  two 
brought  the  inmates  of  the  palace  about  them,  and, 
in  the  confusion,  the  vender  of  the  fruit  escaped  into 
safe  concealment. 

The  wearers  of  the  horns  were  in  sad  plight.  The 
horns  were  as  sensitive  as  boils  and  as  hard  as  stones. 
Renowned  surgeons  examined  them  and  shrunk  from 
attempting  their  reduction  or  excision.  When  the 
gods  had  been  appealed  to  in  vain,  and  when  the 
court-physicians  had  all  failed  to  give  hope  of  relief, 
the  emperor  issued  a  proclamation,  promising  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  any  one  who  would  remove 
the  incubus  from  her  head.  Some  time  after  the 
setting  forth  of  this  proclamation,  the  young  man,  in 
the  guise  of  a  physician,    presented   himself  at  the 


The  Three  TaHsmans.  17 


palace  and  was  admitted  to  an  audience  with  the 
emperor.  In  the  conversation  which  ensued,  the 
beauty,  the  refined  manner,  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
young  doctor  so  favorably  impressed  the  emperor 
that  he  made  no  objection  to  giving  suitable  vouchers 
that,  if  the  horns  were  removed  from  the  head  of  the 
afflicted  princess  and  of  her  handmaiden,  the  pay- 
ment therefor  should  be  a  legal  marriage-contract 
between  the  princess  and  her  physician.  The  young 
man  then  administered  the  green  bananas  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  horns  disappear  from  the 
head  of  his  bride  and  of  her  servant.  The  emperor 
kept  his  promise,  and  the  princess  soon  accompanied 
her  husband  to  his  own  home,  carrying  the  basket, 
the  cloak,  and  the  hat,  which  were  in  due  time  trans- 
ferred to  their  respective  owners.  From  that  time 
the  family  prospered,  though  the  talismans  gradually 
decayed. 


The  teacher,  having  finished  his  narration.  Grouse  re- 
marked that  he  did  not  think  such  taHsmans  were  nowadays 
bestowed,  however  needfully  entreated  of  the  gods ;  but  one 
would  sometimes  be  greatly  benefited  by  listening  to  other 
people's  prayers.  For  instance,  a  great-uncle  of  his  was  one 
nightfall  returning  from  town  by  a  mountain  path  that  led 
past  the  shrine  of  a  local  deity,  and  stopped  to  rearrange  his 
bundles  in  a  thicket  beside  the  shrine.  While  there  he  over- 
heard the  response  of  the  god  to  the  petition  of  a  tiger  that 


1 8  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


had  come  to  ask  direction  toward  good  prey.  The  god  told 
the  tiger  that  in  a  certain  hamlet  a  plump  young  woman 
would  at  moonrise  go  out  from  her  dwelling  to  draw  water 
from  a  well  in  her  garden,  and  described  the  locality 
minutely  that  the  tiger  might  not  fail  to  find  it.  The  hearer 
in  the  thicket  identified  in  the  description  his  own  abode, 
and  so  hastened  home  and  kept  his  wife  safely  indoors,  and 
out  of  danger !  Golden  Branch  said  he  should  rely  on  hard 
work  and  prudence  for  success ;  though  he  thought  luck  had 
much  to  do  with  it,  according  with  the  old  saying  :  "  When 
luck  goes,  gold  turns  into  iron  ;  when  luck  comes,  brass 
turns  into  gold." 

The  teacher  then  called  on  the  eldest  of  the  boys  for  a 
story,  and  this  pupil  responded,  saying  that  he  had  at  the 
noon  recess  been  into  a  shoe-shop,  where  a  man  who  was 
cutting  out  soles  complained  that  ants  infested  his  leather, 
and  then  told  about 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  ANTS. 

A  MAN  had  a  wife  who  berated  him  because  he 
did  not  earn  enough  to  support  her  and  her  boy. 
She  told  him  that,  if  he  could  not  get  work  near 
home,  he  might  better  go  far  away  and  stay  there  until 
he  could  provide  for  his  family.  So  he  went  abroad, 
seeking  employment,  but  he  found  nothing  to  do, 
and  was  so  homesick  that  he  soon  returned  to  his 
native  village.  Fearing  the  taunts  of  his  wife  when 
she  should  know  that  he  had  no  money,  he  lingered 
outside  his  house,    and  there  he   overheard  a  con« 


sr 


\ 


A   SHOE   SHOP. 
19 


The  Origin  of  Ants.  21 


versation  between  her  and  her  son,  about  what  she 
had  that  morning  bought  in  the  market.  He  heard 
the  cupboard-door  open  and  shut,  as  she  put  away 
the  provisions  ;  and  he  thought  he  should  much  like 
to  dine  with  his  family.  After  a  while  he  took 
courage  and  went  in,  but  the  only  greeting  he  re- 
ceived was  an  inquiry  why  he  had  come  back  so 
soon.  He  replied  that,  while  abroad,  he  had  dis- 
covered that  he  had  a  supernatural  sense  of  smell, 
and  so  thought  that  he  would  return  and  exercise 
his  gift  among  his  friends.  His  wife  scoffingly  called 
on  him  to  at  once  give  proof  of  his  smelling  powers 
by  telling  her  what  there  was  to  eat  in  the  house. 
He  sniffed  the  air,  and  said  there  was  chicken,  dressed, 
but  not  cooked.  She  exhibited  surprise,  and  he 
sniffed  again  and  said  there  was  pork  also,  somewhere 
near  the  chicken.  She  appeared  interested,  and  he 
sniffed  again,  and  said  there  was  fish,  which  he  thought 
must  be  carp,  and  two  kinds  of  vegetables  at  least, 
and  some  bean-curd.  She  was  so  mollified  by  this 
display  of  a  remarkable  sense  in  her  husband,  that 
she  gave  him  his  dinner  affectionately,  and  then 
went  out  to  tell  her  neighbors  what  a  talent  he 
had  for  smelling  things  out.  Her  story  spread,  and 
grew  apace,  until  it  came  to  the  emperor's  ears  that 
in  a  certain  village  there  was  a  man  who  could  trace 


22  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


any  missing  article  by  its  scent.  As  it  happened, 
the  emperor  had  just  lost  a  jade  seal,  and  as  it  was 
of  importance  that  he  should  recover  it,  he  sent  for 
this  man  and  told  him  that  if  he  found  the  seal  he 
might  have  any  office  below  the  throne.  The  poor 
fellow,  conscious  that  he  lacked  the  power  ascribed 
to  him,  sat  down  and  began  to  consider  how  he 
should  escape  punishment  for  imposture.  The  more 
he  meditated  the  more  he  feared,  and  he  soon  be- 
came so  absorbed  in  his  misery  that  he  forgot  his 
surroundings,  shut  his  eyes,  and  groaned  and  mut- 
tered :  ''Ah  !  this  is  sharp  distress  !  This  is  a  dire 
calamity  ! "  The  courtiers  thought  he  had  fallen  into 
the  trance  which  usually  precedes  the  exercise  of 
superhuman  faculties,  and  they  watched  and  listened, 
at  a  little  distance,  for  the  outcome.  Suddenly  he 
felt  his  sleeve  pulled,  and  two  of  the  courtiers  secretly 
besought  him  not  to  betray  them.  They  promised 
that  if  he  would  not  again  mention  their  names,  they 
would  lead  him  to  the  well  in  which  the  seal  was 
hidden,  and  would  give  him  a  present  in  addition  to 
the  reward  he  would  get  from  the  emperor.  Fol- 
lowing the  indications  of  the  two  courtiers,  who  were 
named  Sharp  and  Dyer,  and  who  supposed  his  groans 
had  been  oracular  and  referred  to  them,  he  went 
sniffing  to  the  well,  and  declared  the  seal  to  be  at  the 


The  Origin  of  Ants.  23 


bottom.  It  was  lifted  out,  and  the  emperor  offered 
him  the  promised  reward.  He  declined  office,  and 
chose  instead  a  coverlet  of  toffy  which  he  thought 
his  wife  might  nibble  at  o'nights,  and  be  thus  diverted 
from  the  curtain  lectures  with  which  she  was  wont  to 
disturb  his  sleep. 

The  emperor  thought  his  choice  a  strange  one,  but 
had  the  toffy  coverlet  made  for  him,  and  he  took 
it  and  went  home.  His  wife  awaited  him,  expecting 
riches  and  honors  ;  and  when  he  told  her  that  he  had 
found  the  seal,  and,  in  lieu  of  an  office,  had  chosen 
a  toffy  coverlet  for  her,  she  made  his  life  miserable 
with  recriminations. 

Soon  after  he  left  the  capital,  the  empress  heard 
how  the  emperor  s  seal  had  been  recovered,  and, 
wishing  to  see  for  herself  an  exhibition  of  such  a 
wonderful  sense  of  smell,  she  called  the  man  to  her 
palace.  She  put  a  kitten,  wrapped  in  raw  cotton, 
into  a  closed  basket,  and,  calling  her  household 
around  her,  had  the  man  brought  in,  to  divine  what 
the  basket  contained.  He  gazed  at  the  basket,  and 
as  he  could  think  of  no  one  thine  that  seemed  more 
likely  than  another  to  be  hidden  there,  he  persuaded 
himself  that  he  should  soon  lose  his  head.  He  began 
to  consider  whether  he  could  escape  by   flight ;  but 


24  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


the  doors  were  guarded,  and  there  was  some  one  at 
every  step  who  might  seize  him.  In  his  terror  and 
despair,  thinking  only  of  himself,  he  exclaimed : 
"The  bagged  cat  dies."  The  empress,  hearing  his 
utterance,  hastened  to  open  the  basket,  and  discov- 
ered that  the  poor  kitten  was  indeed  dead,  stifled  by 
the  cotton  in  which  it  had  been  too  closely  packed. 
All  the  people  of  the  court,  having  this  new  proof  of 
his  power  of  smelling,  averred  that  he  was  a  god, 
and  that  his  proper  abode  was  in  the  skies.  So  they 
all  took  hold  of  him,  and  tossed  him  into  the  heavens. 
He  went  so  high  that  when  he  came  down  he  was 
dashed  into  dust,  and  the  atoms  were  scattered  every- 
where over  the  earth.  The  dust  all  turned  into  ants, 
and  so  it  comes  to  pass  that,  to  this  day,  whenever  any 
one  has  anything  that  Is  good  to  eat,  the  ants  dis- 
cover it  from  afar,  and  make  their  way  to  it  by  the 
sense  of  smell. 


Golden  Branch  said  he  would  tell  a  story  that  he  had  heard 
from  his  uncle,  who  kept  an  apothecary-shop,  and  who  had 
heard  the  tale  in  a  hamlet  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  where  he 
went  to  buy  herbs,  tigers'  bones,  snake-skins,  bears'  gall, 
scorpions,  and  the  spiders  that  were  used  to  make  poultices 
for  erysipelas.  A  man  there,  a  collector  of  roots,  had  told 
his  uncle  of 


^:^l 


A- 


¥ 


T'-T 


'# 


-A^ 


i^> 


m 


AN  APOTHECARY'S  SHOP. 
25 


The  Mistake  of  the  Apes.       27 


THE  MISTAKE  OF  THE  APES. 

A  THRIFTLESS  man,  who  had  a  scolding  wife,  resorted 
to  the  woods  to  hang  himself ;  but  after  he  had  tied 
the  noose  his  courage  failed,  and  he  went  home.  His 
wife,  on  seeing  him,  said  he  had  been  gone  so  long 
that  she  had  begun  to  hope  he  would  never  come 
back.  This  so  wounded  his  feelings  that  he  declared 
his  intention  of  ending  his  life,  and  again  betook 
himself  to  the  forest.  There  he  passed  from  tree  to 
tree  and  deferred  the  act  from  hour  to  hour,  till  he 
entered  a  strange  gorge,  and  sat  down  in  the  attitude 
of  a  musing  Buddha  under  a  branch  on  which  he 
decided  to  fix  his  rope.  ^ 

Being  exhausted  by  fasting  and  fatigue,  he  fell 
into  a  deep  sleep,  and  was  presently  discovered  by  a 
wandering  ape,  who  reported  to  his  tribe  that  he  had 
found  their  ancestor.  A  council  of  the  elders  was 
then  called  around  the  sleeping  man,  and  after  due 
inspection  they  unanimously  decided  that  he  was  in- 
deed their  ancestor,  and  should  be  their  king.  So 
they  carried  him  to  their  stronghold  in  a  wooded 
glen,  enthroned  him  in  an  arbor,  and  surrounded  him 
with  offerings  of  fruits  and  nuts.  When  he  awoke 
he  found  his  wants  so  provided  for  and  his  servants 
so  deferential  that  he  thought  he  might  greatly  enjoy 


2  8  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


life  among  the  apes.  They  continued  to  bring 
as  tribute  to  him  the  best  of  their  gleanings  in 
the  neighborhood  and  all  the  treasures  they  collected 
in  their  excursions  to  distant  regions.  He  saw  where 
they  had  stowed  the  valuable  articles  accumulated 
during  past  years,  and  at  his  leisure  he  examined 
and  assorted  them. 

One  day  when  the  apes  were  away  he  took  all  their 
portable  wealth  and  made  his  way  out  of  the  forest 
and  back  to  his  own  door.  His  wife,  seeing  him 
more  shabby  than  ever,  poured  reproaches  upon  him, 
but  he  silenced  her  by  putting  a  piece  of  gold  in  her 
hand.  Having  enough  to  live  comfortably  upon  for 
many  years,  the  woman  became  companionable.  She 
soon  told  her  intimate  friend  that  her  husband  went 
away  to  kill  himself  and  came  back  rich,  and  this  friend 
urged  her  own  husband  to  do  likewise.  He  in  turn 
importuned  his  lucky  neighbor  to  disclose  to  him  the 
method  by  which  he  got  his  fortune.  Having  prom- 
ised secrecy  and  a  share  of  the  plunder,  he  was  intrusted 
with  the  story  of  election  to  headship  among  the  apes, 
and  was  given  direction  how  to  reach  their  retreat. 
He  then  set  off,  followed  the  same  route,  sat  in  the 
same  attitude  under  the  same  tree,  and  awaited  the 
arrival  of  the  scout  who  should  call  the  tribe  to  carry 
their  returned  chief  into  their  fastnesses. 


The  Moon-Cake.  29 


The  apes  had  meantime  deliberated,  and  had  con- 
cluded that  a  being  who  had  deserted  them,  taking 
with  him  their  goods,  was  neither  their  sire  nor  sov- 
ereign. So  when  a  young  ape  foraging  for  provisions 
saw  this  second  man  under  the  tree  he  returned  home 
and  notified  the  tribe,  whereupon  the  apes,  moved  to 
indignation  and  anger,  surrounded  him  in  force  and 
tore  him  in  pieces. 


Pearl,  who  was  sitting  beside  Golden  Branch,  said  that 
reminded  her  of  the  saying  of  Mencius :  "  It  is  impossible 
that  any  one  should  become  ruler  of  the  empire,  to  whom 
it  has  not  yielded  the  subjection  of  the  heart." 

Grouse  thought  the  story  exemplified  the  proverb :  *'  If 
you  gamble  and  do  not  lose,  it  is  the  neatest  work ;  if  you 
rob  and  are  not  killed,  it  is  the  business  that  pays  best," 
and  then  he  went  on  to  tell  about 


THE    MOON-CAKE. 

A  LITTLE  boy  had  a  cake  that  a  big  boy  coveted. 
Designing  to  get  the  cake  without  making  the  little 
boy  cry  so  loud  as  to  attract  his  mother's  attention, 
the  big  boy  remarked  that  the  cake  would  be  pret- 
tier if  it  were  more  like  the  moon.  The  little  boy 
thought  that  a  cake  like  the  moon  must  be  desirable, 
and  on  being  assured  by  the  big  boy  that   he  had 


30  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


made  many  such,  he  handed  over  his  cake  for  ma- 
nipulation. The  big  boy  took  out  a  mouthful,  leaving 
a  crescent  with  jagged  edge.  The  little  boy  was  not 
pleased  by  the  change,  and  began  to  whimper ; 
whereupon  the  big  boy  pacified  him  by  saying  that 
he  would  make  the  cake  into  a  half-moon.  So  he 
nibbled  off  the  horns  of  the  crescent,  and  gnawed  the 
edge  smooth  ;  but  when  the  half-moon  was  made, 
the  little  boy  perceived  that  there  was  hardly  any 
cake  left,  and  he  again  began  to  snivel.  The  big 
boy  again  diverted  him  by  telling  him  that,  if  he  did 
not  like  so  small  a  moon,  he  should  have  one  that 
was  just  the  size  of  the  real  orb.  He  then  took  the 
cake  and  explained  that,  just  before  the  new  moon  is 
seen,  the  old  moon  disappears.  Then  he  swallowed 
the  rest  of  the  cake,  and  ran  off,  leaving  the  little 
boy  waiting  for  the  new  moon. 


It  was  now  the  turn  of  a  pupil,  whose  dress  indicated  that 
he  had  within  twenty-seven  months  been  bereaved  of  a 
parent.  He  had  a  white  cord  braided  into  his  black  cue  ; 
a  brown  sackcloth  cover  upon  his  black  satin  cap  ;  and  the 
seams  of  his  tunic  showed  the  raw  edges  of  the  cloth.  His 
shoes  were  also  draped  with  sackcloth ;  and  as  much  white 
as  the  weather  permitted  was  visible  in  his  outer  garments. 
It  is  considered  good  form  to  smile  when  speaking  of  the 
dead  ;  it  is  also  polite  to  joke  when  in  second  mourning : 
so  the  student  in  white  told  merrily  his  tale  about 


The  Fool  of  the  Family.        3  i 


THE   FOOL    OF    THE  FAMILY. 

A  RICH  Chinese  lady  had  a  fooHsh  son,  for  whom 
she  had  taken  a  wife  from  a  cultured  family.  When 
he  was  about  to  pay  the  first  visit  to  his  bride's  par- 
ents, his  mother  instructed  him  how  to  behave  and 
what  to  say,  for  she  was  very  anxious  that  his  mental 
deficiency  should  not  be  discovered.  She  tried  to 
forecast  the  questions  that  would  be  put  to  him,  and 
to  provide  him  with  answers  that  would  satisfy  the 
questioner,  and  at  the  same  time  forestall  further 
questioning.  As  he  carried  a  costly  fan  on  which  a 
landscape  was  painted,  she  thought  that  guests,  dis- 
posed to  be  affable,  would  ask  what  scene  was  there- 
on represented,  and  so  she  taught  him  to  respond  to 
that  question  by  saying,  "Oh,  that  is  only  a  fancy 
sketch."  Then,  as  he  was  to  ride  a  fine  mule,  she 
thought  the  gentlemen  would  be  sure  to  comment 
upon  its  excellent  condition,  and  to  inquire  its  price  ; 
so  she  drilled  her  son  in  replying,  with  courteous 
humility  :  "The  animal  is  nothing  more  than  a  good 
beast  of  burden,  reared  on  our  farm,  and  not  worthy 
of  your  attention." 

When  the  young  man  arrived  at  the  door  of  his 
host,  the  first  to  greet  him  was  his  prospective 
mother-in-law,  who  politely  inquired  after  the  health 


32  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


of  his  mother.  He  promptly  responded,  saying : 
"The  animal  is  nothing  more  than  a  good  beast  of 
burden,  reared  on  our  farm,  and  not  worthy  of  your 
attention."  The  horrified  mother-in-law  drew  back, 
half  unconsciously  exclaiming :  ''  I  was  told  that 
yours  was  a  very  well  ordered  family  !  "  The  fool, 
having  bethought  himself  that  he  ought  to  have  first 
used  the  answer  which  his  mother  first  taught  him, 
hastened  to  reply  :  "  Oh,  that  is  only  a  fancy  sketch." 

*'  Confucius  says  '  Rotten  wood  cannot  be  carved,* " 
remarked  Golden  Branch. 

The  teacher  said  it  was  of  no  use  "  trying  to  reach  ten 
feet  with  a  nine-foot  pole,"  nor  for  a  fool  to  try  to  appear 
to  have  sense,  nor  for  a  woman  to  pretend  to  be  able  to 
spell.  A  neighbor  of  his,  named  Smith,  who  had  spent 
some  years  abroad,  returned  home,  and  heard  that  one  of 
his  old  classmates,  named  Brown,  was  living  in  his  village. 
He  went  at  once  to  Brown's  house,  and  knocked  at  the 
door.  Mrs.  Brown  inquired  who  was  there,  and  was  told 
that  it  was  an  old  friend  of  her  husband's  named  Smith.  She 
said  her  husband  was  absent,  but  that  as  soon  as  he  should 
return  she  would  tell  him  his  friend  Smith  had  been  to  see 
him,  and  she  inquired  to  which  family  of  Smiths  the  visitor 
belonged  and  whether  the  caller  spelled  his  name  with  an  i  or 
with  3.y,  Mr.  Smith  went  home  and  told  his  wife  all  about 
his  call,  and  commented  upon  the  courteous  manner  of  his 
friend's  wife,  and  the  social  knowledge  displayed  by  her  in- 
quiry whether  he  spelled  his  name  with  an  i  or  with  a  j. 
His  wife  remarked  that  if  he  looked  at  home  he  might  see 
as  well-bred  a  woman  as  was  to  be    found  in  any   man's 


Like  his  Brother-in-Law.        S3 


house ;  that  she  did  not  perceive,  in  what  he  had  narrated, 
evidence  of  any  extraordinary  culture,  and  that,  if  he  were 
absent  when  his  call  should  be  returned,  his  classmate  would 
probably  go  home  and  comment  on  ker  intelligence.  The 
next  day  Mr.  Smith  was  careful  to  appear  to  be  absent, 
though  he  actually  stayed  within  hearing,  to  see  how  his 
wife  would  receive  his  friend.  A  caller  soon  announced  him- 
self, and  said  he  was  extremely  sorry  to  have  missed  meeting 
Mr.  Smith,  who  had  been  at  his  house  yesterday,  and  he  had 
hastened  to  return  the  visit.  Mrs.  Smith  said  that  her  hus- 
band was  not  then  at  home,  but  that  as  soon  as  he  should 
return  she  would  tell  him  that  his  friend  Brown  had  been  to 
see  him.  She  was  sure  her  husband  would  desire  to  know 
to  which  family  of  Browns  he  belonged,  and  inquired 
whether  he  spelled  his  name  with  an  z  or  with  a  f  ! 

A  cousin  of  the  teacher's,  who  chanced  to  be  present,  said 
that  there  was  no  telling  what  a  fool  or  a  woman  might  do. 
When  he  was  at  the  barber's  that  morning,  getting  his  head 
shaved,  he  head  a  story  concerning 


A    FOOL   WHO    TRIED    TO    BE    LIKE    HIS   BROTHER- 
IN-LAW. 

A  RICH  widow  had  an  only  son  who  was  a  fool. 
She  got  for  him  a  pretty  young  wife  from  a  rich 
family.  When  the  time  came  for  the  bridegroom 
to  pay  his  first  visit  to  his  bride's  parents,  his  mother, 
anxious  that  he  should  not  disgrace  her  by  rude 
manners,  gave  him  special  instruction  how  he  was  to 
behave  while    a   guest    in   his  father-in-law's  house. 


34  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


Knowing  that  an  elder  sister  of  the  bride  had  been 
married  to  a  man  of  repute,  and  that  this  well-bred 
man  would  be  a  fellow-guest  with  her  son,  she  con- 
cluded her  iterated  instructions  by  telling  her  son  to 
keep  his  eye  on  his  wife's  sister's  husband,  and  in  all 
things  to  do  as  he  did.  When  the  young  man  re- 
turned from  his  father-in-law's  house,  his  mother 
asked  him  if  he  had  remembered  her  directions  and 
had  carefully  followed  the  example  of  his  brother-in- 
law.  "  Oh,  yes,"  responded  he  ;  **  I  did  exactly  as 
Mr.  Blank  did  in  all  things  but  one  ;  I  failed  to  froth 
at  the  mouth."  The  man  unconsciously  appointed 
as  a  pattern  had  unfortunately  fallen  down  in  a  fit, 
and  his  simple  follower  had  also  thrown  himself  on 
the  floor  and  imitated  his  convulsions,  successfully 
rivalling  him  in  all  except  spume.  From  this  comes 
the  common  saying :  **  Don't  try  to  be  just  like  your 
brother-in-law." 


The  teacher  then  dismissed  the  boys,  saying  that  they 
ought  all  to  be  asleep,  and  they  went  home  after  agreeing 
to  meet  the   next  evening  for  story-teUing. 

The  teacher,  with  his  cousin,  had  been  invited  to  a  wed- 
ding supper,  so  the  boys  had  the  school-room  to  themselves^ 
and  Golden  Branch,  after  setting  parched  rice  and  water- 
melon seeds  upon  the  table,  to  accompany  the  clear  tea,  began 
the  round  of  stories  with  one  about 


A  BARBER  SHAVING  THE  HEAD. 
35 


A   Dreadful   Boar.  37 


A   DREADFUL   BOAR. 

A  POOR  old  woman  who  lived  with  her  one  little 
granddaughter,  In  a  wood,  was  out  gathering  sticks 
for  fuel,  and  found  a  green  stalk  of  sugar-cane  which 
she  added  to  her  bundle.  She  presently  met  an  elf 
in  the  form  of  a  wild  boar,  that  asked  her  for  the 
cane,  but  she  declined  giving  it  to  him,  saying  that, 
at  her  age,  to  stoop  and  to  rise  again  was  to  earn 
what  she  picked  up,  and  that  she  was  going  to  take 
the  cane  home,  and  let  her  little  granddaughter  suck 
its  sap.  The  boar,  angry  at  her  refusal,  said  that  he 
would,  during  the  coming  night,  eat  her  granddaughter 
instead  of  the  cane,  and  went  off  into  the  wood. 

When  the  old  woman  reached  her  cabin  she  sat 
down  by  the  door  and  wailed,  for  she  knew  she  had 
no  means  of  defending  herself  against  the  boar. 
While  she  sat  crying,  a  vender  of  needles  came  along 
and  asked  her  what  was  the  matter.  She  told  him, 
and  he  said  that  all  he  could  do  for  her  was  to  give 
her  a  box  of  needles.  This  he  did,  and  went  on  his 
way.  The  old  woman  stuck  the  needles  thickly  over 
the  lower  half  of  her  door,  on  its  outer  side,  and  then 
she  went  on  crying.  Just  then  a  man  came  along 
with  a  basket  of  crabs,  heard  her  lamentations,  and 
stopped  to  inquire  what  ailed  her.    She  told  him,  and 


38  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


he  said  he  knew  no  help  for  her,  but  he  would  do  the 
best  he  could  for  her  by  giving  her  half  his  crabs. 
The  old  woman  put  the  crabs  in  her  water-jar,  behind 
her  door,  and  again  sat  down  and  cried.  A  farmer 
soon  came  along  from  the  fields,  leading  his  ox,  and  he 
also  asked  the  cause  of  her  distress  and  heard  her 
sad  story.  He  said  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  think 
of  any  way  of  preventing  the  evil  she  expected,  but 
that  he  would  leave  his  ox  to  stay  all  night  with  her, 
as  it  might  be  a  sort  of  company  for  her  in  her  lone- 
liness. She  led  the  ox  into  her  cabin,  tied  it  to  the 
head  of  her  bedstead,  gave  it  some  straw,  and  then 
cried  again. 

A  courier,  returning  on  horseback  from  a  neighbor- 
ing town,  next  passed  her  door,  and  dismounted  to 
inquire  what  troubled  her.  Having  heard  her  tale, 
he  said  he  would  leave  his  horse  to  stay  with  her,  and 
make  the  ox  more  contented.  So  she  tied  the  horse 
to  the  foot  of  her  bed,  and,  thinking  how  surely  evil 
was  coming  upon  her  with  the  night,  she  burst  out 
crying  anew.  A  boy  just  then  came  along  with  a 
snapping-turtle  that  he  had  caught,  and  stopped  to 
ask  what  had  happened  to  her.  On  learning  the 
cause  of  her  weeping,  he  said  it  was  of  no  use  to 
contend  against  sprites,  but  that  he  would  give  her 
his  snapping-turtle  as  a  proof  of  his  sympathy.     She 


A   Dreadful   Boar.  39 


took  the  turtle,  tied  it  in  front  of  her  bedstead,  and 
continued  to  cry. 

Some  men  who  were  carrying  millstones  then  came 
along,  inquired  into  her  trouble,  and  expressed  their 
compassion  by  giving  her  a  millstone  which  they 
rolled  into  her  backyard.  A  little  later  a  man  arrived 
carrying  hoes  and  a  pickaxe,  and  asked  her  why  she 
was  crying  so  hard.  She  told  him  her  grief,  and  he 
said  he  would  gladly  help  her  if  he  could,  but  he  was 
only  a  well-digger,  and  could  do  nothing  for  her  other 
than  to  dig  her  a  well.  She  pointed  out  a  place  in 
the  middle  of  her  backyard,  and  he  went  to  work  and 
quickly  dug  a  well. 

On  his  departure  the  old  woman  cried  again,  until 
a  paper-seller  came  and  inquired  what  was  the  matter. 
When  she  had  told  him,  he  gave  her  a  large  sheet  of 
white  paper,  as  a  token  of  pity,  and  she  laid  it 
smoothly  over  the  mouth  of  the  well. 

Nightfall  came  ;  the  old  woman  shut  and  barred 
her  door,  put  her  granddaughter  snugly  on  the  wall- 
side  of  the  bed,  and  then  lay  down  beside  her,  to 
await  the  foe. 

At  midnight  the  boar  came,  and  threw  himself 
against  the  door  to  break  it  in.  The  needles  wounded 
him  sorely,  so  that  when  he  had  gained  an  entrance 
he  was  heated  and  thirsty,  and  went  to  the  water-jar 


40  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


to  dxink.  When  he  thrust  in  his  snout  the  crabs 
attacked  him,  clung  to  his  bristles  and  pinched  his 
ears,  till  he  rolled  over  and  over  to  disincumber  him- 
self. Then  in  a  rage  he  approached  the  front  of  the 
bed  ;  but  the  snapping-turtle  nipped  his  tail,  and  made 
him  retreat  under  the  feet  of  the  horse,  who  kicked 
him  over  to  the  ox,  that  tossed  him  back  to  the  horse, 
and  thus  beset  he  was  glad  to  escape  to  the  back- 
yard, to  take  a  rest,  and  to  consider  the  situation. 
Seeing  a  clean  paper  spread  upon  the  ground,  he 
went  to  lie  upon  it,  and  fell  into  the  well.  The  old 
woman  heard  the  fall,  rushed  out,  and  rolled  the  mill- 
stone down  on  him,  and  crushed  him. 

I  suppose,  said  Pearl,  that  if  we  give  just  what  we  can  to 
the  needy,  and  if  all  our  gifts  are  wisely  used  by  the  recipi- 
ent, then  trouble  comes  to  an  end.  My  notion,  said  Grouse^ 
is  that  we  give  to  others  chiefly  in  order  to  save  trouble  to 
ourselves ;  as  did  my  aunt  when  she  carried  her  ten 
ounces  of  silver  to  her  daughter's  husband,  a  silversmith,, 
who  had  agreed  to  make  it  up  into  jewelry  at  a  low  cost. 
When  she  handed  the  silver  to  her  son-in-law,  she  said,  ''Now 
make  this  up,  and  return  its  weight  in  jewelry  to  me,  with- 
out the  least  diminution  or  adulteration."  He  replied  : 
"  Oh  !  Mother !  Mother !  A  silversmith  who  should  once 
make  up  pure  silver,  without  alloying  it,  or  pilfering  any,, 
would,  after  this  unprecedented  act,  certainly  lose  his  wife 
by  death."  "  Oh,  then,  never  mind,"  said  the  old 
woman ;  "  never  mind,  steal  some  of  it ;  by  all  means^ 
steal  some  of  it." 


The  Two  Melons.  41 


Pearl  said  that  although  there  was  a  saying  that  "  Some 
persons'  fingers  bend  no  way  but  inwards,"  and  another  that 
''  Where  there  is  not  food  for  one  meal,  there  is  no  chance 
to  pass  the  best  piece  to  your  mother,"  she  believed  the  most 
gracious  and  generous  actions  were  performed  by  those  who 
were  poor,  and  that  sincerity  counted  for  much  in  the  eyes  of 
Heaven.  She  then  put  another  bulrush  pith  into  the  oil- 
saucer,  increasing  the  light,  and  told  the  story  of 


THE   TWO   MELONS. 

An  honest  and  poor  old  woman  was  washing  clothes 
at  a  pool,  when  a  bird  that  a  hunter  had  disabled  by 
a  shot  in  the  wing,  fell  down  into  the  water  before 
her.  She  gently  took  up  the  bird,  carried  it  home 
with  her,  dressed  its  wound,  and  fed  it  until  it  was 
well,  when  it  soared  away.  Some  days  later  it  re- 
turned, put  before  her  an  oval  seed,  and  departed 
again.  The  woman  planted  the  seed  in  her  yard  and 
when  it  came  up  she  recognized  the  leaf  as  that  of  a 
melon.  She  mad^  a  trellis  for  it,  and  gradually  a 
fruit  formed  on  it,  and  grew  to  great  size. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year,  the  old  dame  was  un- 
able to  pay  her  debts,  and  her  poverty  so  weighed 
upon  her  that  she  became  ill.  Sitting  one  day  at  her 
door,  feverish  and  tired,  she  saw  that  the  melon  was 
ripe,  and  looked  luscious  ;  so  she  determined  to  try 
its  unknown  quality.     Taking  a  knife,  she  severed 


42  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  melon  from  Its  stalk,  and  was  surprised  to  hear  it 
chink  in  her  hands.  On  cutting  it  in  two,  she  found 
it  full  of  silver  and  gold  pieces,  with  which  she  paid 
her  debts  and  bought  supplies  for  many  days. 

Among  her  neighbors  was  a  busybody  who  craft- 
ily found  out  how  the  old  woman  had  so  suddenly 
become  rich.  Thinking  there  was  no  good  reason 
why  she  should  not  herself  be  equally  fortunate,  she 
washed  clothes  at  the  pool,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout 
for  birds  until  she  managed  to  hit  and  maim  one  of 
a  flock  that  was  flitting  over  the  water.  She  then 
took  the  disabled  bird  home,  and  treated  it  with  care 
till  its  wing  healed,  and  it  flew  away.  Shortly  after- 
ward it  came  back  with  a  seed  in  its  beak,  laid  it  be- 
fore her,  and  again  took  flight.  The  woman  quickly 
planted  the  seed,  saw  it  come  up  and  spread  its  leaves, 
made  a  trellis  for  it,  and  had  the  gratification  of  see- 
ing a  melon  form  on  its  stalk.  In  prospect  of  her 
future  wealth,  she  ate  rich  food,  bought  fine  garments, 
and  got  so  deeply  into  debt  that,  before  the  end  of 
the  year,  she  was  harried  by  duns.  But  the  melon 
grew  apace,  and  she  was  delighted  to  find  that,  as  it 
ripened,  it  became  of  vast  size,  and  that  when  she 
shook  it  there  was  a  great  rattling  inside.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  she  cut  it  down,  and  divided  it,  ex- 
pecting it  to  be  a  cofler  of  coins  ;  but   there  crawled 


The  Two   Melons.  43 


out  of  it  two  old,  lame,  hungry  beggars,  who  told  her 
they  would  remain  and  eat  at  her  table  as  long  as 
they  lived. 


Grouse  poured  tea  for  all,  and  said  he  thought  shrewdness 
had  as  much  influence  as  goodness  in  advancing  one's  inter- 
ests. Golden  Branch  thought  it  fair  to  exercise  tact  in 
effecting  a  correct  result,  as  did  his  father's  cousin.  He 
was  an  old  man  whose  wife  was  dead,  and  he  lived  with  his 
daughter-in-law.  The  latter  was  a  glutton,  and  used  to  pri- 
vately buy,  cook,  and  eat  dainties,  that  she  did  not  share 
with  her  father-in-law.  One  day  the  old  man  chanced  to  see 
her  buying  a  large  fresh  fish,  and  as  the  fish  did  not  appear 
on  the  table,  he  knew  that  she  had  herself  enjoyed  it  alone. 
So  he  wrote  a  stanza,  secreted  himself  on  the  roof  over  the 
door,  and  the  next  morning,  when  she  returned  from  market 
and  was  entering  the  house,  he  dropped  the  paper  on  the 
threshold.  She  saw  it  flutter  down,  as  from  the  sky,  picked 
it  up,  and  kept  it  till  some  one  who  could  read  should  come  to 
tell  her  its  contents.  Her  father-in-law  returned  at  noon,  and 
she  handed  him  the  paper,  telling  him  it  had  fallen  from  the 
clouds  upon  the  threshold  as  she  was  about  to  enter  the 
house.     He  read  from  it  to  her  : 

"  The  kind  heavens  have  sent  down  this  letter  to  say 
That  it  sees  the  large  fish  that  you  buy  every  day  ; 
If  you  set  them  not  forth  for  your  father-in-law, 
They  shall  turn  into  imps  and  abide  in  your  maw." 

The  young  woman  at  once  brought  out  the  fish,  confessed 
her  errors,  and  thereafter  took  no  more  private  meals. 

Grouse  now  called  on  the  smallest  of  the  boys  for  a  story, 
and  the  lad  narrated  that  of 


44  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


THE  BLIND  BOY'S  FALL. 

A  BOY  who  had  been  blind  from  his  birth  h'ved 
with  a  man  who  had  been  blind  since  his  youth.  The 
boy  often  questioned  the  man  about  things  he  had 
seen.  One  day  he  asked  what  the  sky  was  like,  and 
was  told  that  it  was  blue,  like  indigo.  He  felt  of 
some  indigo,  and  said  to  himself,  "  The  sky  is  mealy." 

Another  day  he  asked  the  same  question,  and  was 
told  that  the  sky  was  blue,  like  his  best  jacket.  His 
best  jacket  differed  from  his  worst  in  being  always 
starched  and  seldom  worn,  and  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
finding  it  among  the  others  by  its  smell ;  so  he  said 
to  himself,  ''  The  sky  is  musty." 

Then  he  inquired  what  the  sun  was  like,  and  was 
told  that  it  was  bright,  like  brass.  He  felt  of  some 
brass,  and  said  to  himself,  '*  The  sun  is  hard  and 
smooth."  Inducing  the  old  man  to  talk  further  of 
the  sun,  he  learned  that  it  was  like  a  big,  new  gong ; 
so  he  examined  a  gong,  and  said  to  himself,  ''The  sun 
is  round  and  rattles  when  it  is  touched." 

Afterwards  as  he  was  going  along  the  street  he 
stumbled,  and  fell  into  a  large  pan  of  old  potato-flour 
that  a  woman  had  set  out  to  dry.  The  pan  made  a 
din  on  the  flagging,  the  flour  flew  into  the  air,  and 
the  boy  shouted  :  '*  Help  !  I  have  fallen  into  the  firma- 
ment.    Help  !  " 


The  Fairy  Serpent.  45 


*'  I  asked  my  mother  to  tell  me  a  story,"  said  the  next  boy 
in  the  circle,  "  and  she  repeated  one  which  she  said  a  mender 
of  tubs  had  related  while  he  was  repairing  her  washtub 
before  the  door.  A  family  is  like  a  tub  ;  in  order  to  be  one, 
the  parts  must  all  fill  their  appropriate  places  and  ofifices. 
The  hoops  support  the  staves,  and  the  staves  support  the 
hoops,  and  if  either  part  fails  to  do  its  duty,  the  whole  is 
scattered.  In  a  household  each  depends  on  others  for  main- 
tenance, I  am  sure  you  will  say  the  third  daughter  was  a 
fihal  one  when  I  tell  you  the  story  of 


THE  FAIRY  SERPENT. 

Once  there  was  a  man  who  had  three  daughters,  of 
whom  he  was  devotedly  fond.  They  were  skilful  in 
embroidery  ;  and  he  used  every  day  on  his  way  home 
from  work  to  gather  some  flowers  for  them  to  use  as 
patterns.  One  day  when  he  found  no  flowers  along 
his  route  homeward  he  went  into  the  woods  to  look 
for  wild  blossoms,  and  he  unwittingly  invaded  the 
domain  of  a  fairy  serpent,  that  coiled  around  him, 
held  him  tightly,  and  railed  at  him  for  having  entered 
his  garden.  The  man  excused  himself,  saying  that 
he  came  merely  to  get  a  few  flowers  for  his  daughters, 
who  would  be  sorely  disappointed  were  he  to  go  home 
without  his  usual  gift  to  them.  The  snake  asked  him 
the  number,  the  names,  and  the  ages  of  his  daughters, 
and  then  refused  to  let  him  go  unless  he  promised 


46  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


one  of  them  in  marriage  to  him.  The  poor  man 
tried  every  argument  he  could  think  of  to  induce  the 
snake  to  release  him  upon  easier  terms,  but  the  reptile 
would  accept  no  other  ransom.  At  last  the  father, 
dreading  greater  evil  to  his  daughters  should  they  be 
deprived  of  his  protection,  gave  the  required  promise 
and  went  home.  He  could  eat  no  supper,  however, 
for  he  knew  the  power  of  fairies  to  afflict  those  who 
offend  them,  and  he  was  full  of  anxiety  concerning 
the  misfortunes  that  must  overwhelm  his  whole  family 
should  the  compact  be  disregarded. 

Some  days  passed  ;  his  daughters  carefully  prepared 
his  meals,  and  affectionately  besought  him  to  eat 
them,  but  he  would  not  come  to  the  table.  He  was 
always  plunged  in  sorrowful  meditation.  They  con- 
ferred among  themselves  as  to  the  cause  of  his 
uncommon  behavior,  and,  having  decided  that  one  of 
them  must  have  displeased  him,  they  agreed  to  try  to 
find  out  which  one  it  might  be,  by  going  separately, 
each  in  turn,  to  urge  him  to  eat.  The  eldest  went, 
expressed  her  distress  at  his  loss  of  appetite,  and  urged 
him  to  partake  of  food.  He  replied  that  he  would  do 
so  if  she  would  for  his  sake  marry  the  snake  to  whom 
he  had  promised  a  wife.  She  bluntly  refused  to  carry 
out  her  father's  contract,  and  left  him  in  deeper 
trouble  than  before. 


THE  MENDER  OF  TUBS. 

47 


The   Fairy  Serpent.  49 


The  second  daughter  then  went  to  beg  him  to  take 
food,  received  the  same  reply,  and  likewise  declined 
meeting  the  engagement  he  had  made.  The  youngest 
daughter  then  went  and  entreated  him  to  eat,  heard 
his  story,  and  at  once  declared  that,  if  he  would  care 
for  his  own  health  properly,  she  would  become  the 
bride  of  the  serpent.  The  father  therefore  took  his 
meals  again,  the  days  sped  without  bringing  calamity, 
and  the  welfare  of  the  family  for  a  time  seemed 
secure. 

But  one  morning,  as  the  girls  were  sitting  at  their 
embroidery,  a  wasp  flew  into  the  room  and  sang  : 

"Buzz  !  I  buzz  and  come  the  faster  ; 
Who  will  wed  the  snake,  my  master  ? " 

Whenever  the  wasp  alighted  the  girls  prodded 
him  with  their  needles,  and  followed  him  up  so 
closely  that  he  had  to  flee  for  his  life.  The  next 
morning  two  wasps  came,  singing  the  same  refrain  ; 
the  third  morning  three  wasps  came  ;  and  the  number 
of  wasps  increased  day  by  day,  until  the  girls  could 
no  longer  put  them  to  rout,  nor  endure  their  stings. 
Then  the  youngest  said  that,  in  order  to  relieve 
the  family  of  the  buzzing  plague,  she  would  go  to 
her  uncanny  bridegroom.  The  wasps  accompanied 
her  on   the   road,   and    guided  her  into  the  woods 


50  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


where  the  fairy  serpent  awaited  her  in  a  palace  that 
he  had  built  for  her  reception.  There  were  spacious 
rooms  with  carved  furniture  inlaid  with  precious 
stones,  chests  full  of  silken  fabrics,  caskets  of  jade^ 
and  jewels  of  gold.  The  snake  had  beautiful  eyes  and 
a  musical  voice  ;  but  his  skin  was  warty,  and  the  girl 
shuddered  at  the  thought  of  daily  seeing  him  about. 

After  the  wedding  supper,  at  which  the  two  sat 
alone,  the  girl  told  her  spouse  that  she  appreciated 
the  excellence  of  all  that  he  had  provided  for  her,, 
and  that  she  should  perform  all  her  domestic  duties 
exactly.  For  many  days  she  kept  the  house  neat,, 
cooked  the  food,  and  made  all  things  pleasant  for 
her  repulsive  bridegroom.  He  doted  upon  her,  and 
pined  whenever  she  was  out  of  his  sight.  So  heed- 
ful was  he  of  her  wishes  and  her  welfare,  that  she 
grew  to  like  his  companionship,  and  to  feel  a  great 
lonesomeness  whenever  he  was  absent. 

Having  no  help  in  her  household  work,  she  was,, 
one  day,  on  finding  the  well  dried  up,  obliged  to  go- 
into  the  forest  in  search  of  water,  which  she  finally^ 
discovered  and  toilsomely  brought  back  from  a 
distant  spring.  On  returning  she  found  the  snake 
dying  of  thirst,  and  in  her  eagerness  to  save  his  life 
she  grasped  and  plunged  him  into  the  water,  from 
which  he  rose  transformed,  a  strong  and  handsome 


What  the   Birds  Said.  51 


man.  He  had  been  the  subject  of  wicked  enchant- 
ment, from  which  her  dutiful  quest  and  gracious 
pity  set  him  free.  Thereafter  she  often  with  her 
admirable  husband  visited  her  old  home  and  carried 
gifts  to  those  who  were  less  happy  than  she. 

**  Yes,"  said  Pearl,  "  there  is  a  wonderful  transforming 
power  in  sincere  affection.  '  Inordinate  love  engenders 
hatred,'  as  the  old  saying  goes,  but  wise  and  dutiful  devotion 
may  change  a  beast  into  a  man.  I  wonder  if  all  the  beasts 
that  talk  are  capable  of  such  changes." 

"  It  is  said,"  remarked  Golden  Branch,  ''  that  there  are 
not  only  animals  that  can  use  the  language  of  men,  but  men 
who  can  understand  the  speech  of  animals.  I  heard  that 
there  was  in  olden  time  one  who  knew 

WHAT  THE  BIRDS  SAID. 

A  LAD  named  Kong  Hia  Chiang,  who  lived  with 
his  parents  among  the  mountains,  understood  the 
language  of  birds.  One  twilight,  as  he  sat  at  his 
books,  a  flock  of  birds  alighted  on  a  tree  before  his 
window  and  sang  : 

"  Kong  Hia  Chiang,  on  the  southern  plain 
A  sheep  awaits  you  by  a  heap  of  stones, — 
A  fine  fat  wether,  that  the  dogs  have  slain  ; 

You  eat  the  flesh  and  we  will  pick  the  bones  !  " 

Kong  Hia  Chiang  went  and  brought  in  the  torn 
sheep  and  cooked  it  during  the  night.      The    next 


52  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


morning  a  shepherd  came  and  said  that  one  of  his 
sheep  was  missing;  he  had  found  blood  on  the 
meadow,  had  followed  the  trail,  and  it  had  brought 
him  to  that  house.  Kong  Hia  Chiang  acknowledged 
that  he  had  brought  in  the  sheep,  but  declared  that 
the  dogs  had  killed  it,  and  that  its  death  and  the 
place  where  it  might  be  found  had  been  made  known 
to  him  by  birds.  His  story  was  considered  to  be 
an  impudent  fabrication,  and  he  was  hauled  away  to 
prison. 

While  he  was  awaiting  his  trial  before  the  magis- 
trate, a  bird,  flying  eastward,  perched  on  the  wall, 
saw  him,  and  piped  : 

"  Foes  approach  the  western  border, 
Banners,  bows,  and  spears  in  order, 
While  the  gate  lacks  watch  or  warder." 

Kong  Hia  Chiang  thereupon  so  vehemently  be- 
sought his  jailer  to  inform  the  magistrate  of  the 
imminent  danger  of  invasion  through  the  unprotected 
Western  Pass,  that  the  jailer,  though  wholly  in- 
credulous, decided  to  test  his  power  of  comprehending 
the  utterances  of  birds.  He  took  some  rice,  soaked 
a  part  of  it  in  sweetened  water,  and  a  part  in  brine, 
and  then  spread  the  whole  on  the  roof  of  a  shed  into 
which  he  brought  Kong  Hia  Chiang,  and  asked  him 
if  he  knew  why  so  many  birds  were  chirruping  over- 


What  the   Birds  Said.  53 


head.      Kong  Hia  Chiang  at  once  replied  that  those 

on  the  roof  were  hailing  those  that  were  flying  past, 

and  saying  : 

"  Call  a  halt ;  call  a  halt ; 

Here  is  rice  fresh  and  white ; 
Half  is  sweet,  half  is  salt  ; 
Stop  a  bit  ;  take  a  bite." 

The  jailer  was  convinced  that  he  understood  the 
speech  of  birds,  and  therefore  hastened  to  the  magis- 
trate to  report  the  warning  and  the  test.  The  magis- 
trate sent  a  swift  courier  to  notify  the  military  officers, 
and  a  scout  was  sent  out  to  the  west.  He  soon  con- 
firmed the  message  of  Kong  Hia  Chiang,  and  troops 
were  despatched  to  strengthen  the  garrison  at  the 
pass.  The  invaders  were  thereby  successfully  repelled. 
The  great  service  rendered  to  the  country  by  Kong 
Hia  Chiang  was  acknowledged  by  his  sovereign,  who 
afterward  made  use  of  his  remarkable  talent,  invited 
him  to  study  with  the  princes,  and  eventually  raised 
him  to  a  high  rank  among  the  nobles  of  the  empire. 

"  Speaking  of  the  birds,"  said  Grouse,  "  leads  me  to  pro- 
pose going  along  to  the  house  where  the  teacher  is  partaking 
of  the  wedding  feast,  and  hearing  the  music.  One  of  the 
players  has  a  pipe  that  suggests  a  chattering  magpie,  and 
another  has  a  horn  that  sounds  like  the  tooting  of  an  ele- 
phant. Then  there  is  a  guitar,  a  banjo,  a  violin,  a  clarionet, 
a  flute,  and  a  cithern." 


54  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


The  boys  thereupon  went  homeward,  stopping  to  hear  the 
musicians  on  their  way,  and  to  see  a  puppet  show  which 
amused  the  crowd  around  the  door  of  the  bridegroom's 
house. 

The  next  day,  Pearl's  father,  Mr.  Summers,  came  to  take 
her  to  visit  her  mother  in  her  native  village. 

She  resumed  her  female  attire,  on  leaving  her  grandmoth- 
er's house,  and  went  in  a  sedan-chair  out  of  the  town,  along 
the  narrow  paths  that  bordered  the  fields  of  indigo,  rice, 
sugar-cane,  and  sweet  potatoes,  past  walled  hamlets  of  one- 
story  houses,  and  came  to  the  foot  of  the  pine-covered  hills, 
where  she  had,  when  she  was  a  tiny  girl,  raked  the  fallen 
needles  for  fuel.  The  village,  with  its  narrow  paved  streets, 
thronged  by  pigs,  fowls,  and  children,  was  unchanged.  Her 
mother  met  her  at  the  low  door,  whose  lintel  was  covered 
with  charms  that  might  prevent  the  entrance  of  evil  spirits. 
Pearl  was  glad  to  be  with  her  parents,  and  she  meant  to  im- 
prove her  opportunity  to  ask  them  not  to  betroth  her  with- 
out her  consent.  She  was  passing  out  of  childhood,  and  she 
began  to  wonder  what  was  to  be  her  destiny  in  life.  She 
mused  on  the  usual  lot  of  the  women  of  her  country,  be- 
trothed without  their  knowledge  to  men  they  had  never 
seen,  and  carried,  on  a  wedding-day  appointed  by  their  parents 
or  brothers,  into  servitude  among  strangers. 

One  evening  Pearl,  sitting  with  her  book  in  her  room, 
overheard  her  mother  and  several  women  who  were  sip- 
ping tea  and  enjoying  the  coolness  of  the  moonlit  porch, 
talking  about  the  troubles  of  those  who  had  daughters,  and 
the  happiness  of  those  who  had  sons  and  daughters-in-law. 
Mrs.  Summers  remarked  that,  although  her  only  child  was  a 
daughter,  she  had  never,  like  many  women,  been  urgent  in 
her  prayers  for  sons.  She  did  not  worry  about  posterity,  as 
did  the  grandmother  of 


^^^^^^v^^"^ 


MUSICIANS. 
55 


The   Man  in  a  Shell.  57 


THE  MAN  IN  A  SHELL. 

A  WOMAN,  who  was  anxious  to  have  descendants, 
went  time  after  time  to  all  the  shrines  in  her  neigh- 
borhood, to  make  offerings  and  pray  that  her  only 
son's  wife  might  have  a  child.  When  she  had 
repeatedly  prayed  to  all  the  gods  within  travelling 
distance  from  her  house,  and  had  given  up  hope  of 
succor  from  any  of  them,  she  chanced  to  think  of  the 
Sea  Dragon  King.  Though  she  had  never  heard  of 
his  being  appealed  to  for  help  in  such  cases  as  her 
own,  she  meant  to  leave  no  resource  unexhausted, 
and  so  went  with  suitable  offerings  to  the  shore,  to 
entreat  the  god  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  A  water- 
snake  carried  word  to  the  Dragon  Kingthat  a  woman 
was  worshipping  him  on  the  beach,  and  a  fish  was 
sent  to  ascertain  her  wishes.  The  fish,  having  over- 
heard her  prayers,  brought  back  report  that  she 
wanted  a  grandson.  The  Sea  Dragon  laughed  and 
said  :  '*  We  have  no  human  infants  here  ;  we  have 
only  shell-fish  and  polypi.  She  will  have  to  go  else- 
where for  what  she  desires."  But  the  woman  came 
again  and  again,  until  the  Dragon  grew  tired  of  her 
supplications,  and  said  :  "  If  she  is  determined  to  have 
a  grandchild  from  me,  she  must  take  a  young  conch ; 
that  is  the  best  I  can  give  her." 


58  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


Time  passed,  and  the  old  woman  had  expecta- 
tion of  the  fulfilment  of  her  wishes.  The  Sea 
Dragon's  meritorious  agency  was  acknowledged, 
lauded,  and  bruited  abroad.  The  child  was  in  due 
time  born,  and  was  found  to  be  encased  in  a  spiral 
shell,  with  his  head  projecting  from  its  mouth.  As 
the  family  was  a  wealthy  one  the  queer  babe  was 
skilfully  cared  for,  and  reared.  When  he  grew 
older,  he  would  come  out  of  his  shell,  as  does  a  snail, 
but  would  withdraw  quickly  into  it  again  when 
tired  or  frightened.  After  he  attained  the  size  of  a 
man,  he  would  frequently  emerge  from  and  sit 
upon  his  shell,  but  would  never  wholly  depart  from 
it.  He  was  well  favored,  highly  educated,  and  very 
polite.  No  secret  was  made  of  his  peculiar  attach- 
ment to  the  shell  in  which  he  was  born,  and  which 
had  grown  with  him.  When  he  became  old  enough 
to  take  a  wife,  the  wealth  of  the  family  soon  secured 
for  him  a  pretty  young  girl  as  his  companion.  Soon 
after  the  marriage,  the  grandmother  asked  the  bride 
whether  her  husband  left  his  shell  at  night,  or  lay 
in  it  as  hitherto  by  the  side  of  his  couch.  The  young 
wife  replied  that  he  left  his  shell  on  the  floor,  and 
lay  by  her  side  o'  nights.  The  grandmother  then 
charged  the  bride  to  feign  sleep,  and,  when  she 
was  sure  that  her  husband  slept  also,  to  jump  noise- 


The   Man  In  a  Shell.  59 

lessly  from  the  bed,  seize  the  shell,  and  steal  away 
with  it  to  the  grandmother's  room.  This  plan  was 
successfully  carried  out,  and  as  the  bridegroom 
could  neither  find  his  shell  nor  account  for  its 
absence,  he  lived  without  it,  and  appeared  like 
other  people. 

Some  happy  years  passed,  the  young  wife  bore 
sons,  and  all  was  harmonious  in  the  house.  But  one 
day  the  grandmother  in  the  absence  of  her  grandson, 
put  the  mouldy  shell  out  to  air.  The  grandson  un- 
expectedly returned,  saw,  recognized,  took  possession 
of  his  shell,  and  at  once  crawled  off  in  it  to  the  sea, 
from  which  he  never  returned. 

It  is  said  one  may,  by  urgent  appeal  to  the  gods, 
get  a  son  ;  but  the  son  thus  gotten  may  be  a  sprite 
or  a  demon. 

One  of  the  guests,  who  had  finished  her  ninth  cup  of  tea, 
said  that  a  wise  daughter  would  be  as  desirable  as  any 
son,  provided  her  parents  could  keep  her  with  them;  but 
no  matter  how  talented  or  helpful  a  daughter  might  be, 
she  must  be  given  to  some  other  household.  A  Chinese 
woman  was  like  a  hen  in  a  coop  ;  though  she  ran  ever  so 
fast,  she  never  reached  a  point  from  which  she  could  see 
more  than  was  visible  from  behind  the  bars  of  her  prison. 
The  best  that  could  be  hoped  for,  for  any  girl,  was  that 
she  might  naturally  be  endowed  with  such  gifts  as  would 
give  her  a  commanding  position  within  her  husband's  house, 
as  was  the  case  with  a  girl  who  got  the  title, 


6o  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


THE  YOUNG  HEAD  OF  THE  FAMILY. 

There  was  once  a  family  consisting  of  a  father, 
his  three  sons,  and  his  two  daughters-in-law.  The 
two  daughters-in-law,  wives  of  the  two  elder  sons, 
had  but  recently  been  brought  into  the  house,  and 
were  both  from  one  village  a  few  miles  away. 
Having  no  mother-in-law  living,  they  had  to  appeal 
to  their  father-in-law  whenever  they  wished  to  visit 
their  former  homes,  and  as  they  were  lonesome 
and  homesick  they  perpetually  bothered  the  old  man 
by  asking  leave  of  absence. 

Vexed  by  these  constant  petitions,  he  set  himself 
to  invent  a  method  of  putting  an  end  to  them,  and  at 
last  gave  them  leave  in  this  wise  :  **  You  are  always 
begging  me  to  allow  you  to  go  and  visit  your  mothers, 
and  thinking  that  I  am  very  hard-hearted  because  I 
do  not  let  you  go.  Now  you  may  go,  but  only  upon 
condition  that  when  you  come  back  you  will  each 
bring  me  something  I  want.  The  one  shall  bring 
me  some  fire  wrapped  in  paper,  and  the  other  some 
wind  in  a  paper.  Unless  you  promise  to  bring  me 
these,  you  are  never  to  ask  me  to  let  you  go  home  ; 
and  if  you  go  and  fail  to  get  these  for  me,  you  are 
never  to  come  back." 

The  old  man  did  not  suppose  that  these  condi- 


The  Young  Head  of  the  Family.  6i 


tions  would  be  accepted,  but  the  girls  were  young 
and  thoughtless,  and  in  their  anxiety  to  get  away 
did  not  consider  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  the 
articles  required.  So  they  made  ready  with  speed, 
and  in  great  glee  started  off  on  foot  to  visit  their 
mothers.  After  they  had  walked  a  long  distance  ; 
chatting  about  what  they  should  do  and  whom 
they  should  see  in  their  native  village,  the  high  heel 
of  one  of  them  slipped  from  under  her  foot,  and 
jshe  fell  down.  Owing  to  this  mishap  both  stopped 
to  adjust  the  misplaced  foot-gear,  and  while  doing 
this  the  conditions  under  which  alone  they  could 
return  to  their  husbands  came  to  mind,  and  they  began 
to  cry. 

While  they  sat  there  crying  by  the  roadside  a  young 
girl  came  riding  along  from  the  fields  on  a  water- 
buffalo.  She  stopped  and  asked  them  what  was  the 
matter,  and  whether  she  could  help  them.  They 
told  her  she  could  do  them  no  good  ;  but  she  per- 
sisted in  offering  her  sympathy  and  inviting  their 
confidence,  till  they  told  her  their  story,  and  then 
she  at  once  said  that  if  they  would  go  home  with  her 
she  would  show  them  a  way  out  of  their  trouble. 
Their  case  seemed  so  hopeless  to  themselves,  and 
the  child  was  so  sure  of  her  own  power  to  help  them, 
that  they  finally  accompanied  her  to  her  father's  house, 


62  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


where  she  showed  them  how  to  comply  with  their 
father-in-law's  demand. 

For  the  first  a  paper  lantern  only  would  be  needed. 
When  lighted,  it  would  be  a  fire,  and  its  paper  sur- 
face would  compass  the  blaze,  so  that  it  would  truly 
be  "  some  fire  wrapped  in  paper."  For  the  second,  a 
paper  fan  would  suffice.  When  flapped,  wind  would 
issue  from  it,  and  the  ''  wind  wrapped  in  paper " 
could  thus  be  carried  to  the  old  man. 

The  two  young  women  thanked  the  wise  child, 
and  went  on  their  way  rejoicing.  After  a  pleasant 
visit  to  their  old  homes,  they  took  a  lantern  and  a 
fan,  and  returned  to  their  father-in-law's  house.  As 
soon  as  he  saw  them  he  began  to  vent  his  anger  at 
their  light  regard  for  his  commands,  but  they  assured 
him  that  they  had  perfectly  obeyed  him,  and  showed 
him  that  what  they  had  brought  fulfilled  the  conditions 
prescribed.  Much  astonished,  he  inquired  how  it  was 
that  they  had  suddenly  become  so  astute,  and  they 
told  him  the  story  of  their  journey,  and  of  the  little 
girl  that  had  so  opportunely  come  to  their  relief. 
He  inquired  whether  the  little  girl  was  already  be- 
trothed, and,  finding  that  she  was  not,  engaged  a  go- 
between  to  see  if  he  could  get  her  for  a  wife  for 
his  youngest  son. 

Having  succeeded  in  securing  the  girl  as  a  daugh- 


A  YOUNG  GIRL  CAME  FROM  THE  FIELDS,   RIDING  ON  A  WATER-BUFFALO. 

63 


The  Young  Head  of  the  Family.     65 


ter-in-law,  he  brought  her  home,  and  told  all  the  rest 
of  the  family  that  as  there  was  no  mother  in  the 
house,  and  as  this  girl  had  shown  herself  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  extraordinary  wisdom,  she  should  be  the 
head  of  the  household. 

The  wedding  festivities  being  over,  the  sons  of  the 
old  man  were  to  return  to  their  usual  occupations  on 
the  farm  ;  but,  according  to  their  father's  order,  they 
came  to  the  young  bride  for  instructions.  She  told 
them  that  they  were  never  to  go  to  or  from  the  fields 
empty-handed.  When  they  went  they  must  carry 
fertilizers  of  some  sort  for  the  land,  and  when  they 
returned  they  must  bring  bundles  of  sticks  for  fuel. 
They  obeyed,  and  soon  had  the  land  in  fine  condi- 
tion, and  so  much  fuel  gathered  that  none  need  be 
bought.  When  there  were  no  more  sticks,  roots,  or 
weeds  to  bring,  she  told  them  to  bring  stones  instead  ; 
and  they  soon  accumulated  an  immense  pile  of  stones, 
which  were  heaped  in  a  yard  near  their  house. 

One  day  an  expert  In  the  discovery  of  precious 
stones  came  along,  and  saw  In  this  pile  a  block  of 
jade  of  great  value.  In  order  to  get  possession  of 
this  stone  at  a  small  cost  he  undertook  to  buy  the 
whole  heap,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  use  them 
in  building.  The  little  head  of  the  family  asked  an 
exorbitant  price  for  them,  and  as  he  could  not  induce 


66  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


her  to  take  less,  he  promised  to  pay  her  the  sum  she 
asked,  and  to  come  two  days  later  to  bring  the  money 
and  to  remove  the  stones.  That  night  the  girl 
thought  about  the  reason  for  the  buyer's  being  will- 
ing to  pay  so  large  a  sum  for  the  stones,  and  con- 
cluded that  the  heap  must  contain  a  gem.  The  next 
morning  she  sent  her  father-in-law  to  invite  the 
buyer  to  supper,  and  she  instructed  the  men  of  her 
family  in  regard  to  his  entertainment.  The  best  of 
wine  was  to  be  provided,  and  the  father-in-law  was  to 
Induce  him  to  talk  of  precious  stones,  and  to  cajole 
him  into  telling  in  what  way  they  were  to  be  distin- 
guished from  other  stones. 

The  head  of  the  family,  listening  behind  a  curtain, 
heard  how  the  valuable  stone  in  her  heap  could  be 
discovered.  She  hastened  to  find  and  remove  it 
from  the  pile  ;  and  when  her  guest  had  recovered 
from  the  effect  of  the  banquet  he  saw  that  the  value 
had  departed  from  his  purchase.  He  went  to  nego- 
tiate again  with  the  seller,  and  she  conducted  the  con- 
ference with  such  skill  that  she  got  the  price  originally 
agreed  upon  for  the  heap  of  stones  and  a  large  sum 
besides  for  the  one  in  her  possession. 

The  family,  having  become  wealthy,  built  an  ances- 
tral hall  of  fine  design  and  elaborate  workmanship, 
and  put  the  words  "  No   Sorrow,"  as   an   inscription 


The  Young  Head  of  the  Family.   67 


over  the  entrance.  Soon  after,  a  Mandarin  passed 
that  way,  and,  noticing  this  remarkable  inscription, 
had  his  sedan-chair  set  down,  that  he  might  inquire 
who  were  the  people  that  professed  to  have  no  sor- 
row. He  sent  for  the  head  of  the  family,  and  was 
much  surprised  on  seeing  so  young  a  woman  thus 
appear,  and  said  :  "  Yours  is  a  singular  family.  I 
have  never  before  seen  one  without  sorrow,  nor  one 
with  so  young  a  head.  I  will  fine  you  for  your  im- 
pudence. Go  and  weave  me  a  piece  of  cloth  as  long 
as  this  road." 

"  Very  well,"  responded  the  little  woman  ;  "  so 
soon  as  your  Excellency  shall  have  found  the  two 
ends  of  the  road,  and  informed  me  as  to  the  number 
of  feet  in  its  length,  I  will  at  once  begin  the 
weaving. 

Finding '  himself  at  fault,  the  Mandarin  added, 
"  And  I  also  fine  you  as  much  oil  as  there  is  water 
in  the  sea." 

"  Certainly,"  responded  the  woman  ;  ''  as  soon  as 
you  shall  have  measured  the  sea,  and  sent  me  correct 
information  as  to  the  number  of  gallons,  I  will  at 
once  begin  to  press  out  the  oil  from  my  beans." 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  the  Mandarin.  "  Since  you  are 
so  sharp,  perhaps  you  can  penetrate  my  thoughts.  If 
you  can,  I  will  fine  you  no  more.      I  hold  this  pet 


68  The  Strayed  Arrow. 

quail  in  my  hand  ;  now  tell  me  whether  I  mean  to 
squeeze  it  to  death  or  to  let  it  fly  in  the  air." 

"  Well,"  said  the  woman,  "  I  am  an  obscure  com- 
moner, and  you  are  a  famed  magistrate  ;  if  you  are 
no  more  knowing  than  I,  you  have  no  right  to 
fine  me  at  all.  Now  I  stand  with  one  foot  on  one 
side  my  threshold  and  the  other  foot  on  the  other 
side  ;  tell  me  whether  I  mean  to  go  in  or  to  come 
out.  If  you  cannot  guess  my  riddle,  you  should 
not  require  me  to  guess  yours." 

Being  unable  to  guess  her  intention  the  Mandarin 
took  his  departure.  The  family  lived  long  in  opu- 
lence and  good  repute  under  its  chosen  head. 

"  I  do  not  think  the  sorrow  of  losing  a  wise  daughter,  by 
her  making  a  good  marriage,  is  a  thing  to  be  considered," 
said  a  gray-haired  woman  who  had  been  listening  to  the 
previous  conversation.  "  That  which  is  most  distressful  is 
having  a  daughter  make  a  bad  match.  The  go-betweens 
deceive,  and,  for  the  sake  of  the  fee  that  is  to  be  obtained 
upon  the  accomplishment  of  the  marriage,  represent  the 
suitor  and  his  family  as  being  very  unlike  what  they 
really  are.  I  have  known  one  girl  to  be  thus  married  to  a 
man  who  was  raving  crazy  ;  and  another  who  was  married  to 
a  horrible  dwarf ;  and  another  who  found  herself  bound  for 
life  to  an  idiot  ;  and  still  others  who  have  wedded  beggars, 
when  they  thought  they  were  to  wed  capitalists." 

'*'Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Summers,  ''it  is  all  according  to  the 
proverb,  '  If  you  mate  with  a  fowl,  you  fly  ;  if  with  a  dog, 
you  run  ;  if  with  a  fox,  you  burrow.'  " 


A  MANDARIN   IN   HIS  SEDAN-CHAIR. 
69 


Prospect  and   Retrospect.         71 


"  But  the  concealments  or  deceptions  practised,"  said 
another  woman,  ''  are  not  all  on  the  man's  side.  The  would- 
be  bride  quite  as  often  makes  use  of  an  unscrupulous  go- 
between,  to  secure  a  husband  and  home  that  is  much  too 
good  for  her.  I  remember  an  amusing  instance  of  an  attempt, 
on  the  part  of  both  the  man  and  the  woman,  to  keep  a  deform- 
ity hidden  until  after  the  wedding.  There  was  in  the  end 
about  equal  pleasure  in 


PROSPECT  AND  RETROSPECT. 

A  RICH  hunchback  called  a  go-between,  promised 
her  a  magnificent  fee,  and  told  her  to  get  for  him  a 
pretty  wife,  regardless  of  cost.  The  go-between 
undertook  the  task,  and  went  off  to  chat  about  it  with 
another  go-between.  She  said  to  her  gossip  that  the 
man  was  comely  so  long  as  he  sat  down  and  showed 
only  his  face  ;  but  that  his  hump  was  like  a  camel's, 
and  would  horrify  any  woman  who  should  marry  him. 
She  had  often  observed  that  a  maji.'v^^ho^^ wanted  to 
marry  never  thought  of  taking  a  yieW  of  hirhself  fi*d^m 
the  woman's  standpoint.  ^^  ,^  /\  ^. ;  r  *  .^^ !'  :  i  :; 

The  second  go-between  then  mentioned  that  she 
had  a  client  who  was  equally  selfish.  A  young 
widow  with  a  harelip,  had  intimated  to  her  that  she 
was  willing  to  marry,  and  that  double  the  usual  fee 
would  be    given    to    the   go-between    if   the   groom 


72  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


proved  to  be  handsome.  When  a  widow  made  up 
her  mind  to  marry,  she  was  never  scrupulous  about 
the  method  by  which  she  attained  her  ends. 

After  other  comments  on  the  wickedness  of  the 
world,  the  pair  agreed  that  they  would  marry  their 
two  clients,  and  divide  equally  the  expected  fees.  So 
the  first  go-between  went  to  the  hunchback  and  told 
him  she  had  found  a  bride  for  him,  but  that  before 
making  definite  proposals,  she  would  like  to  be  quite 
sure  he  thought  the  girl  pretty,  and  that  if  he  would 
pass  a  certain  house  he  might  get  a  glimpse  of  her, 
as  she  was  often  out  under  the  fruit-trees.  He  was 
grateful  to  the  go-between  for  giving  him  the  unusual 
privilege  of  seeing  the  bride  before  marrying  her,  and 
he  delightedly  prepared  to  travel  the  road  indicated. 

The  second  go-between  had  informed  the  widow 
that  a  man,  who  was  without  a  wife,  would  be  passing 
that  way  in  a  sedan  chair,  and  that  she  would  do  well 
ta  conceal  Kejrsejf  in  the  shrubbery,  and  peep  at  him  to 
see  'whether  'she' thought  him  handsome  enough  to 
?DfeG6^^>e  iicrjhu^tend.' 

Thus  the  groom,  from  a  chair  whose  curtains  con- 
cealed his  hunch,  saw  a  graceful  girl,  who,  when  she 
saw  a  traveller  approaching,  bashfully  covered  half 
her  face  with  her  fan.  Each  was  well  pleased  with 
the    other,    and    through    the  shrewd  go-betweens^ 


Prospect  and   Retrospect.         73 


the  betrothal  compact  was  soon  made.  The  wedding 
followed  immediately,  for  each  desired  it  to  take 
place  before  any  ill  luck  should  betray  the  fact  of 
deformity. 

The  bride,  closely  veiled,  was  brought  to  the 
groom's  house.  When  the  marriage  rites  were  com- 
pleted, and  the  bride  was  unveiled  by  the  mistress  of 
ceremonies  in  the  groom's  apartment,  she  modestly 
held  her  fan  before  her  face,  glancing  over  it  at  the 
groom,  who  sat  opposite  to  her  across  a  table  at 
which  they  were  to  partake  of  their  first  meal 
together.  He  saw  her  glossy  hair,  her  fine  eyes,  and 
her  straight  nose,  and  wondered  how  he  could  ever 
stand  in  her  presence.  He  was  partially  screened  by 
the  drapery  of  the  gorgeous  bridal  couch,  and  looked 
well  in  his  rich  attire.  The  longer  she  peeped  at  him, 
the  more  she  admired  him,  and  the  more  she  dreaded 
the  revelation  of  her  harelip.  The  go-betweens  had 
received  their  fees  and  departed  ;  the  mistress  of 
ceremonies  alone  remained  to  wait  at  table,  and  was 
for  the  moment  absent.  The  bride  knew  that  she 
could  not  forever  sit  there  looking  over  her  fan,  and 
she  remembered  the  well-known  saying  that  all 
matches  are  fore-ordained  ;  so  she  suddenly  lowered 
her  fan  and  murmured,  ''Our  prospects  are  deter- 
mined by  fate."     He  gazed  at  her  an   instant  while 


74  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  whole  truth  burst  upon  him  ;  then  rising  and 
turning  his  back  toward  her,  he  looked  at  her  over 
his  hump,  and  said,  "  Your  prospect  is  not  nearly  so 
bad  as  my  retrospect." 


"  It  may  be  all  very  well  to  blame  the  go-betweens,"  said 
a  young  wife,  who  had  been  sitting  silent  while  her  elders 
exchanged  views,  "  but  I  have  always  been  told  that  it  is 
of  no  use  to  try  to  change  one's  fate  in  wedlock.  I  suppose 
that  there  is  no  old  couple  who  could  truly  say  they  have 
never  differed  with  each  other  in  mind.  The  proverb  says  : 
*The  bowl  and  the  plate  that  have  been  long  used  on  the 
same  table  will  have  sometimes  clashed.'  I  have  noticed 
that  my  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law  always  disagree  with 
each  other,  but  unite  as  soon  as  they  are  found  fault  with. 
They  often  remind  me  of  a  verse  my  mother  repeated  when 
I  was  little : 

*  There  was  an  old  man  and  his  wife  : 
The  old  man  always  wanted  to  fast ; 
The  old  wife  always  wanted  to  feast  ; 
So  they  lived  in  continual  strife 
And,  regardless  of  neighbor  or  priest, 
They  disputed  and  fought,  till  at  last 
They  each  one  hauled  the  other  apace 
To  the  judge  ;  but  at  sound  of  his  mace. 
They  clasped  hands  and  ran  off,  as  for  life.' 

"  Before  I  was  married  off,  my  brother,  who  is  a  great 
scholar,  taught  me  the  saying  of  Confucius  :  '  Want  of  for- 
bearance in  small  matters  often  confounds  great  plans  ' ;  and 
my  mother  told  me  to  always  remember  the  proverb  :  '  If  you 


A   Foreordained   Match.         75 


cannot  have  the  dumpling,  it  is  something  to  have  the  soup 
in  which  it  was  boiled.'  I  think  we  women  must  be  for- 
bearing, and  be  thankful  when  life  is  not  intolerable.  What 
is  to  be,  will  be,  and  every  man  and  woman  must  consider 
his  and  hers 


A  FOREORDAINED  MATCH. 

No  two  can  e'er  be  coupled 

Except  by  link  of  fate  ; 
No  two  can  e'er  be  sundered. 

If  fore-ordained  to  mate. 

A  WOMAN  who  had  two  daughters,  one  a  well-grown 
girl  of  twelve,  the  other  an  infant,  told  a  go-between 
to  betroth  the  younger  one,  and  bring  her  the  gifts  by 
which  a  bridegroom  binds  such  a  bargain.  This  same 
go-between  had  been  requested  by  a  youth  of  twenty 
to  get  a  wife  for  him,  and  she  went  and  told  him  that 
she  had  found  a  nice  girl  that  he  could  have,  but  that, 
before  the  pledges  were  exchanged,  she  wished  him  to 
see  for  himself  whether  the  alliance  would  suit  him. 
Knowing  that  the  elder  sister  daily  carried  the  younger 
one  out  for  an  airing,  the  go-between  concealed  the 
youth  with  herself  in  a  copse  by  the  roadside,  and 
when  the  two  girls  passed  by,  the  elder  carrying  the 
younger  pick-a-back,  she  pointed  to  them,  saying : 
*'  There,  that  is  the  one  ! "     The  youth  supposed  that 


T(>  The  Strayed   Arrow. 


the  elder  of  the  two  was  indicated,  and  as  she  was  a 
strong  and  well-favored  lass,  he  expressed  his  approval, 
and  the  go-between  went  off  and  completed  the  be- 
trothal. The  young  man,  soon  after,  desired  to  have 
the  wedding-day  fixed,  but  the  go-between  put  him  off 
repeatedly,  by  saying  that  the  parents  of  the  bride 
thought  her  too  young  to  be  placed  in  his  keeping. 

Three  years  thus  passed,  and  the  youth,  impatient 
of  delay,  insisted  that  the  girl  was  tall  enough  to 
marry  even  when  he  saw  her,  and  that  there  could  be 
no  sound  reason  why  she  should  not  at  once  be  trans- 
ferred to  his  care.  This  brought  about  an  explana- 
tion that  his  betrothed  was  not  the  maiden,  but  the 
infant.  He  knew  the  uselessness  of  any  attempt  to  set 
aside  a  legal  compact  of  marriage,  and  he  had  learned 
the  truth  of  the  proverb,  "  An  affianced  girl  grows 
slowly,"  so  he  fled  to  foreign  parts  and  spent  several 
years  in  trade.  Then,  getting  homesick,  he  returned 
to  visit  his  native  village,  and  while  there  thought  he 
would  see  how  much  his  bride  had  grown.  Secreting 
himself  in  the  copse,  he  watched  till  she  came  along 
the  path.  When  he  saw  that  she  was  still  very  small, 
he  was  so  angry  that  he  picked  up  a  stone  and  flung 
it  at  her  head.  The  stone  hit  her  on  her  left  temple, 
and  she  fell,  as  if  dead,  on  the  ground.  Fearing  that 
he  might  be  suspected  of  the  murder,  he  at  once  went 


A  GO-BETWEEN  COMES  WITH  A  PROPOSAL  OF  MARRIAGE. 

77 


A   Foreordained   Match.         79 


abroad,  and  never  dared  to  make  inquiry  whether  any 
one  suffered  in  his  stead  for  the  evil  he  had  wrought. 
His  business  prospered,  he  amassed  wealth,  he  grew 
gray-headed,  but  he  never  cared  to  take  a  wife  from 
among  the  women  of  the  land  in  which  he  lived.  His 
heart  always  turned  to  his  own  country  and  people, 
and,  after  a  score  of  years,  he  thought  that  the  death 
of  the  child  must  be  forgotten,  and  decided  to  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  home  of  his  youth.  He  went 
to  his  birthplace,  built  a  fine  house,  furnished  it  hand- 
somely, and  made  up  his  mind  that  he  could  afford 
to  have  a  young  wife ;  so  he  employed  a  go-between 
to  seek  for  him  a  pretty  and  youthful  bride,  and  in 
consideration  of  the  fact  that  he  was  an  old  man,  he 
indicated  his  willingness  to  pay  for  her  double  the 
amount  that  would  be  given  by  any  young  suitor.  The 
go-between,  thus  commissioned,  soon  made  a  success- 
ful effort  in  his  behalf,  and  got  for  him  a  young,  charm- 
ing, and  comely  wife.  She  was  just  the  age  that  his 
first  betrothed  would  have  been  had  she  lived,  and 
she  had  a  deep  scar  on  her  left  temple  ! 


"  Matches  may  be  fore-ordained,"  said  Mrs.  Summers,"  but 
I  am  a  believer  in  the  proverbial  injunction,  *  Do  your  utmost, 
and  then  await  the  will  of  Heaven.*  Care  in  the  choice  of  a 
go-between,  and  leisurely  consideration  of  all  proposals,  will 


8o  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


frequently  avert  a  calamity  in  matrimony.  '  Urgent  spinning 
makes  bad  yarn,'  says  the  proverb.  But  when  one  is  married 
then  it  is  surely  the  will  of  Heaven  that  one  should  make 
the  best  of  it,  for  '  Cutting  off  your  nose  does  not  remedy  a 
bad  odor.'  In  correct  living  '  Victory  or  defeat  alike  means 
wounds  to  soldiers  ' ;  but  it  is  better  in  case  of  misfortune  to 
act  as  did  a  young  woman  whose  hard  fate  led  her  into 


MARRYING  A  SIMPLETON. 

A  BRIDE,  on  arriving  at  her  husband's  house,  dis- 
covered that  she  was  married  to  a  simpleton.  She 
wisely  determined  to  make  the  best  of  her  lot,  and 
to  endeavor  to  develop  good  sense  in  her  husband. 
As  the  man  was  docile,  and  readily  agreed  to  obey 
his  kind  and  handsome  wife,  she  hopefully  began  to 
educate  him. 

Some  months  after  her  marriage,  her  father's  birth- 
day arrived,  and  his  daughters  followed  the  time- 
honored  custom  of  making  a  supper  for  him  in  his 
own  house.  The  youngest  daughter  was  averse  to 
having  her  foolish  husband  seen  by  her  happy  sisters 
and  her  witty  brothers-in-law,  and  thought  she  would 
invent  some  excuse  for  his  absence,  and  would  not 
allow  him  to  appear  at  the  feast  ;  but  he  begged  so 
hard  to  be  permitted  to  go,  that,  at  the  last  moment, 
she  consented.     She  gave  him  some  money  and  told 


Marrying  a  Simpleton.  8i 


him  to  go  and  buy  a  handsome  suit  of  clothes,  and 
put  them  on,  and  then  to  follow  the  line  of  chaff 
which  she  would  scatter  behind  her  as  she  went,  and 
which  would  guide  him  to  her  father's  house.  Then 
she  gave  him  minute  instructions  as  to  his  behavior 
on  his  arrival,  and  told  him  that,  when  he  sat  down 
to  supper,  she  would  tie  a  string  around  his  ankle, 
and  would  pull  upon  it  as  a  signal  for  him  to  take 
his  food.  He  was  to  mind  the  signal,  and  put  his 
chopsticks  into  the  common  bowl  only  when  she  gave 
the  sign.  She  hoped  that  he  might  thus  take  his 
food  politely  and  not  too  rapidly,  and  that  his  imbe- 
cility might  not  be  discovered  by  her  father's  guests. 
Having  planned  thus  carefully  for  him,  she  went  her 
way  to  her  father's  house,  strewing  the  line  of  chaff 
as  she  went.  As  it  is  not  customary  for  Chinese 
wives  to  go  out  in  company  with  their  husbands,  her 
coming  alone  caused  no  remark  when  she  joined  her 
sisters  and  helped  to  spread  the  feast. 

Her  husband  at  once  prepared  to  follow  her;  but 
instead  of  buying  good  cloth  garments,  he  bought 
such  as  are  made  to  be  burned  at  funerals,  cut  from 
paper  and  joined  at  the  seams  with  paste.  Having 
donned  this  gorgeous  and  fragile  attire,  he  carefully 
followed  the  line  of  chaff  strewn  by  his  wife.  As  it 
happened,  the  wind  had  at  one  point  blown  the  chaff 


82  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


off  the  road  and  upon  a  pool  of  water,  where  it 
floated  deviously  ;  but  he  conscientiously  adhered  to 
its  course  through  the  pool,  and  came  out  on  the 
other  side  with  his  paper  garments  unpasted  and  in 
tatters.  In  this  guise  he  presented  himself  at  his 
father-in-law's  house,  where  his  chagrined  wife 
borrowed  clothes  for  him  to  put  on,  and  renewed  her 
instructions  concerning  his  conduct  at  the  supper- 
table.  She  tied  the  string  around  his  ankle,  and  re- 
tired behind  the  screen  where,  from  her  place  among 
the  other  women,  she  could  watch  and  direct  her 
husband.  Mindful  of  her  words,  he  used  his  chop- 
sticks in  accordance  with  the  signals  through  the 
string,  and  behaved  so  properly,  that  many  who  sat 
with  him  at  table  and  who  had  heard  that  he  was  a 
fool,  noticed  his  polite  manners,  and  concluded  in 
their  own  minds  that  he  had  been  traduced.  But 
unfortunately  a  fowl  that  was  running  about,  search- 
ing for  crumbs,  got  its  foot  entangled  in  the  string, 
and  in  its  efforts  to  get  away  gave  rapidly  repeated 
jerks.  Supposing  that  his  wife  was  signalling  to  him 
to  eat  very  fast,  the  poor  fool  filled  his  mouth,  then 
his  plate,  and  then  snatched  his  hat  from  his  head 
and  began  to  put  morsels  into  that,  till  his  table  com- 
panions, doubtful  of  his  sanity,  led  him  from  the 
room. 


Marrying  a  Simpleton.  83 


After  this  humiliation,  his  wife  decided  that  she 
would  never  again  take  him  into  society,  but  would 
stay  at  home  with  him  and  teach  him  there.  A 
neighbor  soon  came  and  complained  that  her  hus- 
band had  broken  his  roof  by  throwing  stones  upon 
it.  The  fool  explained  that  he  saw  two  birds  fighting 
on  the  roof,  and  threw  the  stones  in  order  to  separate 
them.  The  wife  paid  for  the  injury  of  the  roof,  and 
told  her  husband  that  when  he  wanted  to  separate 
fighting  birds  he  should  not  throw  stones,  but  should 
lay  hold  of  them  and  take  them  away  from  each 
other.  A  few  days  later  he  came  in  with  torn  cloth- 
ing, having  been  gored  by  oxen.  He  said  that  he 
had  seen  two  oxen  fighting,  and,  remembering  her 
orders,  had  not  thrown  stones,  but  had  taken  them 
by  their  heads  to  separate  them,  and  had  thereupon 
got  hurt.  She  mended  his  torn  clothes,  and  told  him 
that  when  he  again  saw  oxen  fighting,  he  must  not 
touch  their  heads,  but  must  pull  their  tails.  Soon 
after  he  came  in,  scratched  and  bruised,  and  when 
she  asked  him  what  was  now  the  matter,  he  told  her 
that  he  had  found  two  dogs  fighting,  and,  recollect- 
ing her  last  instructions,  had  pulled  their  tails,  where- 
upon the  dogs  had  left  each  other  and  had  attacked 
him.  She  told  him  he  was  wrong  again.  What  he 
ought  to  have  done  was  to  have  run  and  got  some 


84  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


water  and  to  have  dashed  it  on  the  dogs.  He  said 
he  would  do  so  next  time.  After  a  while  he  came  in 
crying  bitterly,  and  said  that  he  saw  two  men  fight- 
ing, and  did  as  she  told  him  to  do.  He  brought  a 
pail  of  water  and  threw  it  over  them  ;  then  the  men 
set  upon  him  and  beat  him  so  that  he  could  scarcely 
drag  himself  home. 

His  wife  saw  that  he  must  have  some  occupation 
that  would  keep  him  out  of  mischief,  and  asked  him 
what  he  would  best  like  to  do.  He  thought  he 
should  enjoy  buying  and  selling  ;  so  she  gave  him 
some  money  and  told  him  to  go  to  the  shore  and  buy 
crabs,  and  take  them  to  the  villages  inland  for  sale. 
He  merrily  started  off,  and  bought  the  crabs,  carry- 
ing them  in  two  baskets  slung  at  the  ends  of  a  pole 
over  his  shoulder.  As  he  journeyed  along  in  the 
heat  of  a  summer  day,  the  crabs  began  to  squeak,  after 
the  manner  of  their  kind.  He  thought  they  were 
complaining  of  the  sultry  confinement  in  which  he 
kept  them,  and  asked  them  if  they  were  too  hot. 
They  seemed  to  say  that  they  were.  He  then  in- 
quired whether  they  would  come  back  when  he  called 
them,  if  he  should  untie  their  claws  and  put  them  in 
a  pond  near  by,  and  they  appeared  to  vociferously 
assent.  He  then  sent  the  crabs  off  for  a  swim,  while 
he  took  a  nap  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  beside  the  pond. 


Marrying  a  Simpleton.  85 


In  the  cool  of  the  day,  he  gathered  up  his  baskets, 
and  called  his  crabs,  reminding  them  of  the  promise 
they  had  made  to  him,  but  no  crabs  returned. 
Wearied  and  discouraged  he  returned  home,  and 
related  his  mishap  to  his  patient  wife.  She  showed 
him  his  mistake  in  untying  the  crabs'  claws  and 
taking  them  out  from  the  basket.  She  told  him  that 
if  he  had  simply  set  the  basket,  with  the  crabs,  down 
into  the  pool,  they  would  have  cooled  off  without 
danger  of  his  losing  them.  He  said  he  should  be 
wiser  next  time,  and  the  next  morning  he  took  some 
more  money  and  started  on  another  business  tour. 
That  morning  he  invested  his  capital  in  ducklings, 
put  them,  with  their  feet  tied,  into  his  baskets,  and 
again  started  countryward.  The  sun  was  hot, 
and  the  ducklings  soon  began  to  peep  loudly. 
Thoughtful  of  his  wife's  injunction,  when  he  arrived 
at  the  pond  he  set  his  baskets  down  into  the 
water  without  removing  the  ducklings,  and  went 
to  take  a  nap  under  the  tree.  When  he  woke  and 
went  to  take  up  his  burden,  the  ducklings  were  all 
drowned. 

That  evening  he  told  his  wife  that  the  trouble  with 
his  business  was  that  it  was  too  small.  If  she  would 
give  him  larger  sums  to  expend,  he  was  sure  he 
should    gain    something.      Willing    to    teach    him 


86  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


though  at  much  expense,  she  gave  him  more  money 
than  before,  and  he  went  away  into  the  country  to 
purchase  fat  ducks,  to  bring  into  the  town  market  to 
sell.  The  fields  were  just  then  irrigated  for  rice- 
planting,  and  flocks  of  wild  herons  were  feeding  on 
the  small  frogs  in  the  fields.  From  a  distance,  he 
first  saw  the  herons,  and,  supposing  them  to  be  ducks, 
he  called  to  a  man  who  seemed  to  be  watching  them, 
and  asked  how  much  he  would  sell  his  ducks  for. 
The  man  perceived  that  he  was  dealing  with  a  fool, 
and  bargained  with  him,  agreeing  to  exchange  all  his 
ducks  for  all  the  simpleton's  money.  The  knave  told 
his  dupe  that  the  ducks  were  much  attached  to  him, 
their  owner,  and  would  be  driven  by  no  one  else  so 
long  as  he  himself  was  in  sight ;  but  that  he  would 
leave  them  very  quietly,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  gone 
their  new  master  could  drive  them  wherever  he 
pleased.  The  fool  paid  over  his  money,  waited  till 
the  pretended  owner  of  the  ducks  was  a  long  way  off, 
and  then  took  a  wand  and  waved  it  over  the  herons  to 
drive  them  into  town.  As  soon  as  he  raised  his 
stick  and  shouted,  the  herons  rose  into  the  air  and 
sped  away. 

Again  he  went  home  with  nothing  but  a  pitiful  tale 
for  his  wife.  She  then  relinquished  the  idea  of 
educating  him,  and  set  him  to  picking  up  chips. 


Baling  with  a  Sieve.  8y 


"  I  do  not  doubt  that  providential  discipline  made  your 
young  woman  admirable,"  said  the  gray-haired  lady.  '  Land 
that  has  been  burnt  over  is  most  fertile '  ;  and  the  proverb, 
*  It  is  better  to  die  with  the  wise  than  to  live  with  the 
foolish,'  is  not  applicable  to  her  case.  I  overheard  Pearl, 
the  other  day,  when  she  was  repeating  a  sentence  of  Confu- 
cius:  '  He  who  requires  much  from  himself  and  little  from 
others  will  keep  himself  from  being  the  object  of  resent- 
ment.' Women  should  learn  to  require  little  from  others, 
and  then  they  will  have  less  trouble.  Too  many  women  think 
only  of  suicide  as  a  recourse  from  an  unhappy  marriage. 
I  heard  of  a  girl  who  was  married  to  a  fool,  and  who  was 
saved  from  suicide  by  seeing  a  man 


BALING  WITH  A  SIEVE. 

A  PRETTY  and  clever  girl  was  married  to  a  half- 
witted fellow,  and  lived  alone  with  him  in  the  home 
of  his  ancestors.  She  was  skilled  in  weaving,  and 
once,  when  she  had  finished  a  web  of  fine  linen,  she 
wanted  to  sell  it ;  but  she  feared  that,  if  she  entrusted 
it  to  her  husband,  he  would  dispose  of  it  foolishly, 
and  she  was  too  young  to  go  herself  to  the  cloth- 
market.  Having  no  one  else  with  whom  to  discuss 
the  subject,  she  finally  mentioned  it  to  her  husband, 
and  as  he  was  anxious  to  please  her,  he  urged  her  to 
let  him  take  it  to  market  and  sell  it  for  her.  With 
much  hesitation,  she  put  the  cloth  in  his  hands, 
telling  him  to  be  sure  that  he  sold  it  for  the  market- 


88  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


price.  Wishing  to  fortify  him  against  sharpers,  she 
indulged  in  a  little  tirade  against  human  beings  gen- 
erally, and  ended  up  by  saying :  ''  Now,  remember 
that  among  all  whose  nostrils  open  downward,  not 
one  is  honest.  "  The  husband  wished  to  win  his 
wife's  approbation,  and  as  he  went,  he  repeated  over 
and  over  to  himself  her  last  assertion  that  "  among 
all  whose  nostrils  open  downward,  not  one  is 
honest.  "  To  and  fro  through  the  market  he  paced, 
with  the  cloth  under  his  arm,  but  as  all  the  buyers  there 
had  nostrils  opening  downwards,  he  considered  that 
they  came  under  his  wife's  ban,  and  he  made  no 
attempt  to  negotiate  with  them.  But,  toward  night- 
fall, he  saw  a  gentleman  who  was  reading  a  proclama- 
tion posted  high  on  a  wall,  and  as  his  nostrils 
therefore  opened  upward,  the  fool  pulled  at  his  tunic 
and  said  to  him  :  "  Sir,  I  have  been  looking  for  you 
all  day.  My  wife  told  me  that  among  all  whose 
nostrils  opened  downward,  not  one  is  honest ;  and  as 
/  your  nostrils  open  upward,  I  wish  to  sell  you  this 
piece  of  cloth  for  its  true  market  value.  "  The  gentle- 
man perceived  that  he  had  a  fool  to  deal  with,  so  he 
took  the  cloth  and  said  :  *'  Go  home  and  tell  your 
wife  that  her  cloth  was  bought  by  Mr.  Seven-Eight, 
who  lives  in  the  house  beside  the  wasps'  nest,  behind 
a  grove  of  jointless  bamboos,  and  that  she  can  send 


Baling  with  a  Sieve.  89 


there  to-morrow  for  the  payment.  "  The  fool  went 
and  gave  his  wife  the  message  ;  and,  as  complaint  was 
useless,  she  set  herself  to  solve  the  riddle  propounded. 
She  concluded  that,  since  seven  and  eight  are  fifteen, 
the  bearer  had  been  born  when  his  father  was  fifteen 
years  old  ;  that  a  wasps'  nest,  whose  inmates  go  in 
and  out  with  much  noise,  was  llkest  to  a  boys' 
school  ;  and  that  if  a  jointless  bamboo  could  be  found 
in  the  world,  it  would  resemble  a  gigantic  onion-top. 
She  inquired  among  the  old  women  of  the  neighbor- 
hood whether  any  one  among  their  acquaintances  had, 
at  the  age  of  fifteen,  had  a  son  born  to  him,  and  she 
was  told  of  two  such,  and  learned  where  these  sons 
lived.  She  then  sent  her  husband  to  look  at  the 
houses  of  these  two  sons,  and  so  gained  the  informa- 
tion that  both  had  onion-beds  before  them,  and  that 
one  of  them  had  a  boys'  school  adjoining.  To  the 
latter  she  next  day  confidently  sent  her  husband  to 
get  the  payment  for  the  cloth.  Mr.  Seven-Eight 
appeared  at  the  door,  and  when  his  creditor  told  him 
that  his  wife  had  sent  him,  he  handed  over  a  fair 
amount  of  money  and  added  a  covered  basket  which 
he  told  the  fool  to  carry  home  unopened  and  to 
deliver  carefully  to  his  wife.  The  wife  received 
the  basket,  and  did  not  remove  the  cover  till  she  was 
alone.     She  found  in  it  a  lump  of  dirt,  beside  a  pome- 


90  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


granate  blossom,  and  she  understood  that  the  donor 
intended  to  convey  to  her  the  Idea  that  she  was  a  fair 
flower  and  her  husband  a  clod.  Her  fate  had  seemed 
hard  to  her,  even  when  other  persons  did  not  allude 
to  it,  and  this  symbol  set  her  to  weeping  over  herself 
as  she  had  never  wept  before.  Her  husband  was 
greatly  distressed  by  her  red  eyes,  and  he  went  off 
privately  to  Mr.  Seven-Eight  and  told  him  that  he 
had  paid  too  little  for  the  cloth,  for  his  wife  had  been 
weeping  continually  about  it.  Mr.  Seven-Eight, 
being  an  astute  man,  not  only  divined  the  real  cause 
of  the  tears,  but  foresaw  that  the  woman  would  soon 
attempt  to  destroy  her  own  life,  and  that  a  deep  pool 
in  a  creek  near  her  house  would  be  the  place  where 
she  would  go  to  drown  herself.  Feeling  himself 
responsible  for  having  impelled  her  toward  suicide, 
he  took  a  sieve  to  the  pool  and  began  baling  it  out, 
tossing  the  water  over  the  road  that  lay  along  its 
brink.  Soon  after,  he  saw  a  young  woman,  coming 
alone,  in  handsome  attire,  along  the  path,  and  when 
she  turned  back  on  seeing  him,  he  was  sure  he  had 
monopolized  the  pool  none  too  soon.  She  approached 
again  at  nightfall,  found  him  still  baling,  and  again 
retired.  At  midnight,  she  came  again,  but  the  baling 
was  still  going  on.  She  then  made  up  her  mind  that 
she  would  go  to  the  pool  next  morning,  and,  if  the 


Baling  with  a  Sieve.  91 


baling  continued,  she  would  say  that  she  wished  to 
pass  along  that  road,  complain  of  its  being  muddy, 
and  find  out  how  long  before  the  man  would  stop 
working  there.  She  accordingly  approached  near 
enough  to  see  that  the  man  was  baling  with  a  sieve, 
and  she  asked  him  why  he  was  thus  spoiling  the  road 
by  which  she  wished  to  journey.  He  replied  that 
his  wife  had  lately  been  walking  along  there,  and  had 
lost  a  needle.  He  wanted  to  find  it  for  her,  and  as 
he  thought  it  might  have  dropped  into  the  pool,  he 
was  trying  to  bale  the  pool  dry,  to  see  if  the  needle 
was  at  the  bottom. 

She  said  to  herself  :  ''  Here  is  a  man  trying  to  bale 
out  with  a  sieve  a  pool  in  a  running  stream,  in  order 
to  find  a  needle  for  his  wife.  I  am  not  the  only  wo- 
man who  has  a  fool  for  a  husband.  As  this  man  is 
much  older  than  my  husband,  his  wife  is  probably 
much  older  than  I,  and  she  has  not  killed  herself.  If 
she  can  endure  life  with  her  husband,  who  is  certainly 
a  greater  fool  than  mine,  then  I  ought  also  to  be  able 
to  live."  Thus  reasoning,  she  turned  back  home- 
ward, and  Mr.  Seven-Eight,  perceiving  that  his  object 
was  accomplished,  also  went  his  way. 

"  But,"  said  Mrs.  Summers  "  to  marry  an  idiot,  a  hump- 
back, or  an  opium-smoker,  need  not  make  the  wife  utterly 
miserable.     If  she  has  a  just  mother-in-law,  a  generous  father- 

6 


92  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


in-law,  and  kind  sisters-in-law,  she  may,  in  spite  of  her 
husband's  traits,  find  life  worth  living.  The  best  of  husbands 
cannot  make  his  wife  happy  unless  his  relatives  treat  her 
with  respect.  So  long  as  a  woman  has  no  legal  rights,  and 
can  hold  no  property  as  her  own,  and  is  always  under  the 
dominion  of  her  seniors  in  her  husband's  household,  the 
chances  are  that  she  will  have  more  troubles  than  comforts, 
until  she  is  old  enough,  and  has  descendants  enough,  to  make 
herself  an  authority  in  the  family.  It  is  especially  hard 
when  a  girl  marries  a  man  who  has  grown-up  children ;  and 
this  often  happens,  for,  as  the  proverb  says,  '  When  a  wife 
dies,  her  successor  is  her  junior;  when  a  husband  dies,  his 
successor  is  his  senior.'  I  remember  a  story  that  my  aunt 
told  me,  about 


THE  WIDOW  AND  THE  SAGACIOUS  MAGISTRATE. 

A  RICH  old  widower  who  was  collecting  rent  on  his 
farms  chanced  to  see  a  pretty  young  woman,  and 
fell  in  love  with  her.  He  made  inquiry  about  her, 
and  ascertained  that  she  was  an  orphan,  and  lived 
with  her  grandmother  on  his  estate.  He  sought  the 
grandmother,  and  by  offering  her  a  present  of  four 
hundred  ounces  of  silver  he  gained  her  consent  to  his 
taking  the  young  woman  as  his  wife.  The  girl  was 
not  altogether  satisfied  with  the  prospect,  but  she  had 
no  right  of  appeal  against  the  decision  of  her  sole 
relative,  and  in  due  time  she  was  sent  off  in  a  sedan- 
chair  to  the  house  of  the  aged  bridegroom. 


(.i'*'J.^^l 


w 


M  >^4^  LAkU. 


BEFORE  THE  MAGISTRATE. 

93 


r         ft         a^1<»        *^C»rr  r  «  q 


The  Widow  and  the  Magistrate.   95 


When  the  sedan-chair  approached  the  groom's 
abode,  his  only  son,  already  a  husband  and  parent, 
thought  that  his  father  had  bought  for  him  an  inferior 
wife,  and  was  greatly  pleased  ;  but  the  bride  was 
ushered  into  the  old  man's  apartments,  and  the  enraged 
son  sought  his  own  wife  for  conference  regarding  the 
course  of  action  which  they  two  ought  to  pursue  under 
such  scandalous  parental  behavior.  The  two  decided 
that  they  would  never  receive  the  young  bride  as  a 
mother,  and  would  ignore  her  presence  in  the  house. 

The  old  husband  was  kind  to  his  little  wife,  gave 
her  plenty  of  money,  and  hired  servants  to  do  her 
bidding.  After  her  baby  boy  was  born  she  became 
in  some  measure  reconciled  to  her  lot.  When  her 
boy  was  seven  years  old  he  went  to  the  same  school 
with  his  nephew,  and  there  the  two  children  quarrelled 
and  fought.  The  nephew,  being  older  and  stronger, 
drew  blood  on  his  little  uncle,  and  both  children  went 
home  and  told  their  parents  about  the  conflict.  This 
set  the  little  wife  to  considering  the  fact  that  she  had 
not  strength  to  cope  with  her  opponents  in  the 
house.  Her  husband  was  not  so  strong  as  was  his 
eldest  son,  she  herself  was  not  so  strong  as  was  that 
son's  wife,  and  her  son  was  not  so  strong  as  was  his 
nephew.  She  saw  that  she  lacked  power  to  maintain 
her  rights,  and  she  begged  her  husband  to  divide  his 


g6  The  Strayed  Arrow. 

property,  so  that  she  and  her  son  might,  in  case  of 
his  death,  have  a  home  from  which  their  enemies 
could  not  drive  them. 

He  told  her  that  no  arrangement  which  he  could 
make  would  secure  her  against  wrong  after  his  death, 
and  that  any  will  he  might  devise  would  be  destroyed 
or  disregarded.  But  he  gave  her  a  water-color  por- 
trait of  himself,  and  told  her  to  take  it,  when  her  time 
of  need  should  come,  to  a  certain  magistrate,  and  to 
present  it  to  him  along  with  her  plea  for  protection. 

Soon  after  this  the  old  man  died,  and  the  funeral 
was  scarcely  over  when  the  worst  that  his  widow  had 
apprehended  came  to  pass.  She  and  her  son  had  a 
tumble-down  out-house  assigned  to  them  to  live  in, 
and  all  else  that  had  belonged  to  the  old  man  was 
taken  possession  of  by  his  eldest  son.  Then  the 
widow,  following  her  deceased  husband's  directions, 
carried  the  picture  to  the  magistrate  and  told  her 
story,  asking  for  justiceat  the  hands  of  the  Emperor's 
representative. 

As  the  family  and  its  affairs  were  widely  known,  the 
magistrate  felt  that  his  reputation  as  a  sagacious  ruler 
was  at  stake.  He  took  the  picture,  sent  the  plaintiff 
home,  and  sat  down  alone  to  meditate  on  the  case. 
The  aged  husband  had  apparently  left  no  written  will, 
knowing  that  such  a  paper  would  be  secretly  or  forci- 


The  Widow  and  the  Magistrate.    97 

tly  destroyed ;  the  son  was  strong  and  rich ;  no 
verdict  of  a  court  of  justice  could  prevent  oppression 
of  the  widow  if  she  were  to  live  in  the  house  with  the 
elder  son,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  induce  him  to 
support  her  elsewhere. 

The  magistrate  was  disturbed  by  the  difficulties  of 
the  case,  and  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  He  sat  late 
at  night  looking  at  the  likeness,  and  wondering  what 
his  old  friend,  now  deceased,  could  have  expected  him 
to  do.  A  servant  brought  refreshments  on  a  tray, 
but  he  took  nothing  besides  a  cup  of  tea,  which  he 
mechanically  held  while  he  meditated.  Finally,  for- 
getting the  teacup,  it  slipped  from  his  hand,  and  its 
contents  were  spilled  on  the  picture  that  lay  before 
him.  The  paper  thus  wetted  became  transparent,  and 
letters  showed  themselves  through  the  painted  surface. 
The  magistrate  tore  off  the  outer  layer  of  paper,  and 
discovered  underneath  it  a  folded  document  adhering 
to  the  cardboard  on  which  the  picture  was  mounted. 
The  document  was  the  last  will  and  testament  of  the 
deceased,  and  contained  a  full  account  of  all  he  had 
possessed,  with  instruction  how  to  find  a  hidden  treas- 
ure, with  two  thousand  ounces  of  silver  which  was 
bequeathed  to  the  magistrate  as  a  payment  for  redress- 
ing the  wrongs  of  the  widow.  The  magistrate  com- 
mitted the   will   to  memory,  destroyed  it,  and  then 


98  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


notified  the  son  that  he  had  an  important  communica- 
tion to  make  to  him. 

When  the  son  arrived  the  magistrate  invited  him  to 
sit  with  him  on  the  divan,  and  then  immediately  arose 
to  welcome  another  guest.  Though  no  one  besides 
the  magistrate  and  the  son  was  visible  in  the  room, 
the  former  conducted  a  third  person  to  the  seat  of 
honor,  and  appeared  to  converse  respectfully  with  the 
new-comer.  The  son  thought  the  magistrate  was  out 
of  his  mind. 

Presently  the  magistrate  fell  into  a  trance,  and  said 
to  the  son  :  *'  Child,  after  my  death  you  drove  my 
wife  from  my  house  and  took  all  my  goods,  giving  no- 
share  to  my  youngest  son.  You  have  angered  me  in 
my  grave.  Now  if  you  repent  of  your  sin  toward  me,, 
and  divide  my  property  as  I  direct,  it  will  be  well  with 
you  ;  but  if  you  are  obstinate  you  shall  never  know 
where  I  have  concealed  my  most  valuable  possessions." 

The  son  told  the  magistrate  he  was  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  demon,  and  that  his  words  should  receive 
no  credence.  The  magistrate  assured  him  that  his. 
father's  spirit  sat  on  the  divan,  but  the  son  declined 
to  believe  this  assertion. 

Then  said  the  magistrate  :  "  Let  us  test  the  trutk 
of  the  presence  in  a  practical  way.  If  it  tells  me 
where  the  treasure  is  to  be  found,  and  we  indeed  find 


The  Widow  and  the  Magistrate.   99 


the  treasure  in  that  place,  that  will  prove  that  I  am 
guided  by  your  father's  spirit." 

The  son  assented,  and  an  assemblage  was  called  of 
the  neighboring  gentry,  the  officials,  the  village  elders, 
and  the  young  widow  with  her  child.  The  magistrate 
reserved  the  seat  of  honor  in  the  company  for  the  in- 
visible plaintiff,  and  continued  to  treat  him  as  if  he 
were  there  in  visible  shape.  The  whole  case  was 
stated,  and  an  agreement  entered  into  between  the 
two  parties,  the  magistrate  always  interpreting  to  all 
present  the  words  of  the  deceased.  A  compact  was 
made  before  all  these  witnesses  that  all  the  treasure 
whose  place  of  concealment  should  be  made  known 
by  the  deceased  should  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
the  widow  and  her  boy,  and  that  two  thousand  ounces 
of  silver,  also  concealed,  should  be  delivered  to  the 
magistrate  in  compensation  for  the  service  rendered 
by  him  to  the  widow. 

All  these  points  being  fully  explained  and  settled, 
the  whole  assemblage  followed  the  magistrate — who 
appeared  to  converse  with  the  spirit  as  he  went 
— to  the  miserable  out-house  in  which  the  widow 
was  sheltered  ;  and  there  with  picks  and  hoes  they 
dug  up  treasure  that  made  the  little  son  much 
richer  than  his  elder  brother.  They  found  also 
the  two  thousand  ounces  of  silver,  which  was  trans- 


loo  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


ferred  to  the    magistrate,   according    to   the    will    of 
the  deceased. 

Then  all  the  people,  believing  the  widow  and  her 
son  to  be  protected  by  the  old  man's  spirit,  treated 
them  with  distinguished  consideration,  and  they  lived 
in  comfort  together  ever  after.  The  widow's  son  be- 
came a  successful  candidate  in  the  literary  examina- 
tions, and  eventually  a  high  officer  of  state. 

The  gray-haired  lady,  observing  that  the  third  watch  of 
the  night  had  just  been  announced  by  a  crowing  cock,  took 
her  leave,  and  all  the  other  visitors  followed.  Pearl  lay  awake 
long  past  midnight,  thinking  what  anguish  would  be  hers  if 
she  should  be  forever  separated  from  Golden  Branch.  The 
next  day,  before  returning  to  her  grandmother's  house,  and 
to  school,  she  asked  and  gained  a  promise  from  her  parents 
that  they  would  not  betroth  her  until  they  should  have  con- 
sulted her.  This  promise  removed  her  fear  of  present  danger, 
but  she  knew  that,  sooner  or  later,  she  must,  like  other 
women,  be  disposed  of  in  marriage,  and  after  her  return,  in 
her  boys'  garb,  to  her  studies,  she  planned  a  betrothal  for 
herself,  by  a  scheme  which  would  expose  her  to  no  charge  of 
unwomanliness. 

Walking  alone,  one  twilight,  on  the  city  wall,  with  her 
bow  in  her  hand,  she  fastened  to  her  arrow  a  billet,  on  which 
was  written :  "  To  him  who  finds  this  arrow  will  I  give  my 
sister  in  marriage. — SUMMERS."  Then  she  held  the  arrow 
before  High  Heaven,  prayed  that  it  might  reach  the  hand  of 
Golden  Branch,  and  shot  it  toward  the  yard  beside  the 
school-room,  where  she  knew  Golden  Branch  was  practising 
at  quoits.     Golden  Branch   picked  up  the  arrow  as  it  fell ; 


The  Strayed  Arrow.  loi 


but  at  the  same  moment  there  came  to  him  a  messenger 
who  said  that  the  elder  Branch  was  ill,  and  hc^d-  ^iijijipQned 
Golden  to  his  bedside.  Alarmed  by  this  ne.wsvXldlden'  put 
the  arrow,  with  its  unopened  billet,  into.'hi^*|riesk|  in.'tiie;  \\ 
schoolroom,  and  hastened  to  his  father's  fious'eV* 'Grouse,  '  ' 
who  was  prowling  about  the  room  a  few  moments  later,  took 
the  arrow  from  the  desk,  opened  and  read  the  billet,  recog- 
nized the  handwriting  and  the  surname,  and  at  once  deter- 
mined that  he  would  secure  the  unknown  girl  for  himself. 
He  thereupon  took  the  arrow  to  his  fellow-student.  Summers, 
saying  that  as  soon  as  he  should  have  graduated  he 
should  claim  the  fulfilment  of  the  pledge.  Pearl  looked 
upon  her  fate  as  sealed,  and  went  about  her  duties  with  a 
heavy  heart. 

Soon  after  this.  Golden  Branch,  Pearl,  and  Grouse,  having 
studied  for  many  years,  and  all  being  aspirants  for  a  literary 
degree,  were  to  go  to  the  Provincial  Capital  for  examination 
before  the  Literary  Chancellor.  Pearl,  fearing  that  by  some 
accident  she  would  be  put  to  confusion  should  she  go  in  com- 
pany with  her  classmates,  feigned  illness,  until  the  other  two 
were  gone.  They  had  scarcely  departed,  when  Pearl  heard 
that  her  father  had  been  arrested  upon  an  unjust  accusation 
of  debt,  and  had  been  taken  to  prison  in  the  town.  Mrs. 
Summers  arrived  at  her  mother's  house,  to  confer  with  Pearl 
concerning  the  efforts  that  should  be  made  for  the  release 
and  vindication  of  the  prisoner. 

Mr.  Summers  had  no  brothers,  and  his  parents  were  dead. 
It  was  therefore  difficult  to  find  a  relative  to  act  in  his  behalf 
in  the  necessary  legal  proceedings.  His  wife's  relatives,  and 
two  of  his  uncles,  assembled  in  the  evening  to  talk  over  the 
case.  Mrs.  Summers  said  that  her  husband  had  never  tried 
to  gain  influential  friends,  but  had  obeyed  the  laws,  hoping 
to  avoid  lawsuits.  She  and  he  had  laid  to  heart  the  story  of 
the  man  who  had 


I02  The  Strayed   Arrow. 


A  LAWYER  AS  A  DEBTOR. 

.T>H^R'E-r fe/a  proverb  which  says:  ''The  society  of 
'tpi^gtxatQ^  itnJDOverlshes  one,  while  by  consorting  with 
beggars,  one  may  get  a  handful  of  rice."  A  poor  man, 
who  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  litigation,  lived  near 
an  astute  and  influential  lawyer.  Though  the  peasant 
was  at  peace  with  all  his  neighbors,  he  thought  it  well 
to  secure  an  ally  for  time  of  war,  so  he  took  presents 
of  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl  to  the  lawyer,  thinking  to  thus 
gain  his  friendship,  and  engage  his  help  in  case  of 
need. 

The  lawyer  accepted  every  whit  that  the  peasant 
brought  to  him,  without  putting  any  return  gift  in  the 
trays  or  baskets  in  which  the  presents  were  brought, 
expressing  thus  his  willingness  to  be  under  obligations 
to  the  donor.  The  peasant  continued  to  send  edibles, 
and  the  lawyer  continued  to  receive  them,  until  the 
lawyer's  wife  had  her  wonder  aroused  by  her  husband's 
readiness  to  take  all  the  presents  offered,  while  he 
made  no  return  either  in  kind  or  in  other  kind.  So 
one  day  when  some  hampers  arrived  from  the  peasant, 
and  her  husband  accepted  all  their  contents  without 
laying  anything  in  the  basket  for  the  messenger  to  take 
back  as  a  compensation,  she  ventured  to  inquire  from 
her  husband  how  he  Intended  to  repay  the  poor  man 
for  all  the  gifts  ;  whether  he  had  In  mind  some  way 


PLOUGHING. 
103 


A   Lawyer  as  a  Debtor.        105 


in  which  he  should  render  important  assistance  to  him, 
or  whether  he  had  planned  the  conveyance  of  some 
valuable  property  to  him.  The  lawyer  replied  that  he 
should  take  all  that  the  man  brought,  and  had  given 
orders  for  the  retention  of  everything  that  might 
arrive  when  he  was  absent.  In  course  of  time  he 
would  get  the  donor  involved  in  a  lawsuit,  and  then 
would  extricate  him  as  a  payment  for  past  favors.  To 
act  once  as  his  advocate  in  a  suit  would  cancel  all  his 
indebtedness. 

As  it  happened,  the  peasant's  messenger  had  not 
departed,  and  overheard  through  an  open  window 
this  conversation  between  the  lawyer  and  his  wife. 
He  hastened  quietly  away,  and  told  the  maker  of 
presents  what  recompense  he  was  to  receive  for  his 
gifts,  whereupon  the  client  concluded  that  he  would 
be  better  off  if  he  had  not  a  lawyer  among  his 
debtors. 


"  It  may  be  well,"  said  Pearl's  grandmother,  *'  not  to 
depend  on  magnates  for  help  in  time  of  need,  but  then  one 
must  be  able  either  to  help  one's  self,  or  to  endure  affliction. 
I  am  much  afraid  of  using  official  influence  for  gaining  a 
point.  *  He  who  rides  a  tiger  finds  it  hard  to  dismount,'  and 
if  there  is  any  way  of  getting  along  without  applying  to  the 
magistrate,  let  us  follow  it.  But  my  son-in-law  is  likely  to 
suffer  unless  he  is  supplied  wich  the  necessary  bribes  to 
jailers.     He  is  not  like  the  artist,  who,  in  crossing  a  desert 


io6  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


where  he  could  find  no  spring,  painted  a  plum  so  skilfully 
that,  whenever  he  looked  at  it,  it  made  his  mouth  water,  and 
thus  prevented  his  feeling  thirst.  Nor  is  he  gifted  with 
powers  of  conciliation  which  would  enable  him  to  release 
himself  as  did 


THE  SINGING  PRISONER. 

A  FRIENDLESS  man  was  thrown  into  prison,  with  his 
feet  and  hands  bound,  and  lay  on  the  stone  floor 
unfed  and  uncared  for.  He  thought  within  himself 
that  as  he  had  no  hope  of  freedom,  and  as  crying 
would  not  shorten  the  hours,  he  would  do  his  best 
toward  being  content  where  he  was  ;  so  he  began  to 
cheer  himself  by  reciting  plays  that  he  knew  by  heart. 
So  exquisitely  did  he  vary  the  parts  of  the  speakers, 
taking  in  due  turn  the  voice  of  aged  man,  virile  rob- 
ber, or  delicate  maiden,  that  he  soon  drew  all  his 
fellow-prisoners  into  a  charmed  circle  around  him. 
Those  who  had  food  shared  it  with  him,  that  he 
might  have  strength  to  continue  the  entertainment ; 
the  turnkey  unlocked  his  fetters  that  he  might  recite 
more  loudly  ;  the  constables  finally  gave  him  better 
quarters  that  they  might  comfortably  listen  to  him  in 
leisure  moments  ;  the  petty  ofificers  reported  his  stories 
to  their  friends,  and  thereby  gradually  won  for  him 
a  constituency,  whose  influence  prevailed  with  the 
magistrate  and  secured  his  release. 


Self-Convicted.  107 


"  No,"  said  Pearl's  grandfather,  "  Summers  will  mope  and 
pine,  no  matter  how  much  care  we  take  to  send  him  good 
food  or  cheering  messages.  But  he  is  guiltless,  and 
'  Where  there  is  no  iniquity  there  should  be  no  fear.'  It  is 
true  that  the  courts  are  corrupt.  '  The  sluice  that  does  not 
perform  its  office  is  a  cesspool,'  as  the  proverb  says  ;  and  he 
who  slips  into  that  cesspool,  the  courts,  may  easily  drown. 
But  we  will  hope  for  the  best.  Summers  is  not  likely  to 
involve  himself  as  did  a  man  who  was 


SELF-CONVICTED. 

A  MAN  left  his  father's  house  and  went  abroad  on 
business.  After  several  years'  absence  he  returned, 
and  a  few  days  later  was  throttled  at  night  in  his  bed. 
There  was  no  evident  cause  for  the  murder,  and  no 
clue  to  the  murderer.  His  parents  besought  the 
magistrate  to  fathom  the  mystery.  Seven  men  were 
arrested  on  suspicion,  and  interrogated  under  torture, 
but  no  one  among  them  owned  the  crime.  They  were 
kept  in  prison,  while  the  magistrate  vainly  sought  for 
circumstantial  evidence  or  accidental  proof  of  their 
guilt. 

After  some  time,  a  famous  provincial  judge  came 
to  the  local  court,  and  the  magistrate  put  the  case  into 
his  hands.  The  judge  called  the  men  before  him,  and 
informed  them  that  the  assistance  of  a  god,  powerful 
in  the  detection  of  criminals,  had  been  brought  by 


io8  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


him  to  convict  the  guilty  one  among  them.  They 
would  be  required  to  pass  the  night  in  an  empty  room, 
standing  naked  in  the  presence  of  the  god,  who  would 
during  the  night  set  his  stamp  on  the  back  of  the 
assassin.  The  others  would  the  next  morning  be 
set  free. 

Accordingly,  the  men  were  put  into  a  cell  so  dark 
that  they  could  see  nothing  but  a  strange  god  of  huge 
size  and  threatening  aspect,  enthroned  in  the  centre 
of  the  floor.  Appropriate  invocations  were  chanted, 
and  the  men  were  left  to  pass  the  night  with  the  god. 
At  dawn,  the  judge  and  his  subordinates  came  into 
the  cell,  and  commanded  the  seven  to  stand  in  a  row 
with  their  backs  toward  the  god. 

The  walls  of  the  cell  had,  the  day  before,  been 
rubbed  over  with  soot,  and  one  man's  back  was  found 
to  be  well  begrimed,  through  his  efforts  to  press  it  so 
tightly  against  the  wall  as  to  prevent  the  god  from 
finding  space  to  set  a  stamp  on  it.  On  his  being 
declared  by  the  judge  to  be  the  sealed  man,  he 
immediately  confessed  the  crime  and  was  beheaded. 

"  Mother  wit,"  said  one  of  the  uncles,  ''  does  more  than 
does  a  clear  consience  in  keeping  one  out  of  the  clutches  of 
knaves.  '  You  cannot  peacefully  take  away  a  tiger's  cubs,* 
nor  can  you  without  opposition  remove  from  the  courts  a 
source  of  revenue  to  the  constables.  I  think  that  Summers, 
instead  of  protesting   that  he  does   not  owe   the   money. 


WOMEN  AT  A  SHRINE. 
109 


The  Ladle  from  the  Moon,      i  i  i 


should  bring  witnesses  to  prove  that  he  has  paid  it.  A 
countercharge  is  as  good  as  a  receipt.  He  might  take  a  hint 
from  the  young  woman  who  was  the  owner  of 


THE  LADLE  THAT  FELL  FROM  THE  MOON. 

Once  there  was  an  old  woman  who  lived  on  what 
she  got  by  wile  from  her  relatives  and  neighbors.  Her 
husband's  brother  lived  alone  with  his  only  son,  in  a 
house  near  hers,  and  when  the  son  brought  home  a 
wife  she  went  to  call  on  the  bride.  During  the  call 
she  inquired  of  the  bride  whether  she  had  not,  since  her 
arrival  in  the  house,  heard  at  night  a  scratching  among 
the  boxes  containing  her  wedding  outfit.  The  bride 
said  she  had  not.  A  few  days  later,  the  old  woman 
came  again,  and  during  the  visit  the  bride  remarked 
that,  before  the  matter  was  mentioned,  she  had  heard 
no  scratching  among  her  boxes,  but  that  since  that 
time  she  had  listened  for  it,  and  had  heard  it  every 
night.  The  old  woman  advised  her  to  look  carefully 
after  her  clothing,  saying  that  there  were  evidently 
many  mice  in  the  house,  and  that  she  would  be  likely 
at  any  time  to  find  her  best  garments  nibbled  into 
shreds.  The  old  woman  knew  there  was  no  cat  in 
the  house,  but  she  inquired  whether  there  was  one,  and 
on  hearing  that  there  was  not,  she  offered  to  lend  the 
young  woman  her  own   black-and-white  cat,  saying 


1 1 2  The  Strayed   Arrow. 


that  it  would  soon  extirpate  all  the  mice.  The  bride 
accepted  the  loan,  and  the  old  woman  brought  the 
cat,  and  left  it  in  the  bride's  apartment.  After  a  few 
hours  the  cat  disappeared,  and  the  bride,  supposing  it 
to  have  gone  home,  made  no  search  for  it.  It  did 
indeed  go  home,  and  the  old  woman  secretly  disposed 
of  it ;  but  several  days  later,  she  came  to  the  young 
woman  and  said  that  when  she  lent  the  cat  her  house 
was  free  from  mice,  but  that,  as  soon  as  the  cat  was 
gone,  the  mice  came  and  multiplied  so  fast  that  now 
everything  was  overrun  by  them,  and  she  would  be 
obliged  to  take  the  cat  home  again.  The  young 
woman  told  her  that  the  cat  went  away  the  same  day 
that  it  came,  and  she  had  supposed  it  went  home. 
The  old  woman  said  it  had  not,  and  that  nothing  could 
compensate  her  for  the  loss  of  it,  for  she  had  reared  it 
herself ;  that  there  was  never  before  seen  such  a  cat 
for  catching  mice  ;  that  a  cat  spotted  as  that  one  was, 
was  seldom  found  ;  and  that  it  was  of  the  rare  breed 
which  gave  rise  to  the  common  saying, 

A  coal-black  mouser,  with  white  loins, 
Is  worth  its  weight  in  silver  coins, 

and  that  the  weight  of  her  cat  was  two  hundred 
ounces. 

The  young  woman  was  greatly  surprised  by  this 


The  Ladle  from  the  Moon.      1 13 


estimate  of  the  value  of  the  lost  cat,  and  went  to  her 
father-in-law  and  related  all  that  had  occurred.  The 
father-in-law,  knowing  the  character  of  the  old  woman, 
could  neither  eat  nor  sleep,  so  harassed  was  he  by  the 
expectation  that  she  would  worry  his  daughter-in-law 
till  the  two  hundred  ounces  of  silver  should  be  paid. 
The  young  woman,  being  a  new-comer,  thought  but 
lightly  of  the  matter,  till  the  old  woman  came  again 
and  again  to  make  mention  of  the  cat.  When  it 
became  apparent  that  she  must  defend  herself,  the 
young  woman  asked  her  father-in-law  if  he  had  ever 
lent  anything  to  the  old  woman  ;  and  when  he  said  he 
could  not  remember  having  lent  anything,  she  begged 
him  to  think  carefully  and  see  if  he  could  not  recall 
the  loan  of  a  tool,  a  dish,  or  a  fagot.  He  finally 
recollected  that  he  had  lent  to  her  an  old  wooden 
ladle,  but  he  said  it  originally  cost  but  a  few  farthings, 
and  was  certainly  not  worth  speaking  about. 

The  next  time  that  the  old  woman  came  to  dun  for 
the  amount  due  for  her  cat,  the  young  woman  asked 
her  to  return  the  borrowed  ladle.  The  old  woman 
said  that  the  ladle  was  old  and  valueless ;  that  she  had 
allowed  the  children  to  play  with  it,  and  they  had 
dropped  it  in  the  dirt,  where  it  had  lain  until  she 
picked  it  up  and  used  it  for  kindlings.  The  bride 
responded  :  "  You  expect  to  enrich  yourself  and  your 


1 1 4  The   Strayed  Arrow. 


family  by  means  of  your  cat.  I  and  my  family  also 
want  money.  Since  you  cannot  give  back  the  ladle, 
we  will  both  go  before  the  magistrate  and  present 
our  cases.  If  your  cat  is  adjudged  to  be  worth  more 
than  my  ladle,  I  will  pay  you  the  excess  ;  and  If  my 
ladle  be  worth  more  than  your  cat,  then  you  must  pay 
me."  Being  sure  that  the  cat  would,  by  any  judge, 
be  considered  of  greater  value  than  the  ladle,  the  old 
woman  agreed  to  the  proposition,  and  the  two  went 
before  the  magistrate.  The  young  woman  courteously 
gave  precedence  to  the  elder,  and  allowed  her  to  make 
the  accusation.  The  old  woman  set  forth  her  case, 
and  claimed  two  hundred  ounces  of  silver  as  a  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  her  cat.  When  she  had 
concluded  her  statement,  the  judge  called  on  the 
young  woman  for  her  defence.  She  said  she  could 
not  disprove  the  statement,  but  that  the  claim  was 
offset  by  a  ladle  that  had  been  borrowed  by  the  plain- 
tiff.    There  was  a  common  saying. 

In  the  moon  overhead,  at  its  full,  you  can  see 

The  trunk,  branches,  and  leaves  of  a  cinnamon  tree. 

A  branch  from  this  tree  had  one  night  been  blown 
down  before  her  father-in-law's  door,  and  he  had  had 
a  ladle  made  from  the  wood.  Whatever  the  ladle  was 
put  into,  never  diminished  by  use.     Whether  wine^ 


A  Wife's  Vengeance.  1 1 5 


oil,  rice,  or  money,  the  bulk  remained  the  same  if  no 
ladle  beside  this  one  were  used  in  dipping  it.  A  foreign 
inn-keeper,  hearing  of  this  ladle,  came  and  off  ered  her 
father-in-law  three  thousand  ounces  of  silver  for  it, 
but  the  offer  was  refused.  And  this  ladle  was  the  one 
that  the  plaintiff  had  borrowed  and  destroyed. 

The  magistrate,  on  hearing  this  defence,  understood 
that  the  cat  had  been  a  pretext  for  extortion,  and 
decided  that  the  two  claims  offset  each  other,  so  that 
no  payment  was  due  from  either. 

"  Wit  is  wealth,"  said  the  other  uncle.  *'  These  are  degen- 
erate days,  and  we  have  degenerate  rulers.  Men  nowadays 
do  not  get  justice  from  the  magistrates  as  in  the  olden 
times." 

*'  Perhaps,"  said  Pearl,  "  the  people  who  cry  out  for  justice 
from  the  magistrate  are  not  themselves  just.  I  have  alw^s 
liked  the  young  woman,  who,  having  discovered  a  wrong, 
punished  it  herself,  as  is  told  in  the  story  of 


A  WIFE'S  VENGEANCE. 

A  BEAN-CURD  maker  had  an  old  mother  and  a  pretty 
young  wife.  The  wife  helped  her  husband  make  the 
curd  in  a  room  behind  the  shop,  and  the  old  mother 
assisted  in  selling  it  at  a  counter  extending  across  the 
front  of  the  shop,  along  the  quiet  street.  The  only 
son  of  a  rich  merchant  used  to  pass  frequently,  on  his 


1 1 6  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


way  to  and  from  his  studies,  and  he  chanced  to  see 
the  little  wife.  He  was  so  impressed  by  her  beauty 
that  he  often  stopped  at  the  counter  to  buy  curd,  with 
the  hope  of  getting  a  peep  at  her  through  the  door 
into  the  back  room.  He  did  this  for  many  months, 
chatting  sometimes  with  the  unsuspecting  husband 
and  mother-in-law,  and  he  came  to  be  looked  upon  by 
them  as  a  very  honest  and  affable  customer.  When 
the  acquaintance  had  become  one  of  long  standing, 
the  three  used  to  occasionally  talk  together  of 
personal  affairs. 

The  more  the  young  man  saw  the  little  wife,  the 
more  he  coveted  her,  and  at  last  he  became  so  jealous 
of  her  husband,  with  whom  she  was  evidently  friendly, 
that  he  determined  to  be  rid  of  him.  He  told  the 
husband  that  he  was  going  to  a  distant  port,  in  charge 
of  goods  on  one  of  his  father's  junks,  and  that,  if  the 
husband  liked  to  go  along  and  take  some  of  his  wares 
to  sell,  he  would  give  him  passage,  and  would  furnish 
half  the  capital  needed  in  the  venture.  The  bean- 
curd  maker  thought  the  opportunity  promising,  made 
ready,  and  went  on  the  voyage.  His  sales  were  so 
large  that  he  afterward  took  a  second  journey  and 
then  a  third.  During  the  third  voyage,  by  device  of 
the  lover,  the  husband  was  alone  with  him  on  deck  at 
night,  and  was  pushed  overboard  by  him.     The  hus- 


A  Wife's  Vengeance.  117 


band  was  a  good  swimmer,  and  swam  toward  the  boat, 
but  his  rival  repeatedly  pushed  him  off  with  an  oar, 
until  he  was  exhausted  and  sank.  The  boat  returned 
to  its  port,  and  the  young  man  told  the  mother  and 
wife  that  the  man  fell  overboard  in  the  night,  and 
that,  though  every  effort  was  made,  he  could  not  be 
saved,  nor  could  his  body  be  recovered. 

After  this  the  murderer  continued  to  falsely  befriend 
the  two  mourning  women,  being  careful  to  so  manage 
that  they  should  have  a  keen  sense  of  their  poverty 
and  helplessness.  He  then  sent  one  who  appeared 
to  be  disinterested,  to  suggest  to  the  two  women  that 
it  would  be  wise  for  the  young  widow  to  marry  some 
well-to-do  man,  who  would  protect  her  and  take  care 
of  the  old  mother.  When  they  had  had  time  to  be 
impressed  with  the  wisdom  of  this  advice,  and  to 
become  thoughtful  as  to  whether  any  man  who  might 
wish  to  marry  the  widow  would  undertake  the  support 
of  the  mother,  the  young  man  sent  a  formal  proposal 
of  marriage,  with  the  promise  of  a  monthly  stipend 
sufficient  for  support  to  the  elder  woman.  The  little 
widow  was  anxious  for  her  mother-in-law's  welfare, 
and  she  was  grateful  to  the  rich  man's  son  for  the 
many  favors  she  supposed  he  had  done  them,  so  she 
consented  to  be  his  wife.  He  loved  her  for  her 
beauty,  and  she  esteemed  him   for  his  benevolence, 


1 1 8  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


and  they  lived  harmoniously  together.  After  two 
years  a  son  was  born  to  them,  and  they  were  happier 
than  ever.  One  festival-day  the  wife  reminded  the 
husband  that  she  had  never  seen  all  the  grounds 
about  their  house,  and  suggested  that,  as  every  one 
else  was  that  day  seeking  recreation,  he  should  take 
her  and  the  child  out  for  a  stroll.  He  acceded  to  her 
request,  and  they  went  out  among  their  flower-gardens 
and  fish-pools.  As  they  stood  watching  the  gold-fish 
in  one  of  the  tanks,  a  toad  hopped  upon  the  curb,  and 
she,  in  disgust,  poked  it  off  into  the  water  with  a 
stick.  The  toad  swam  back  toward  her,  and  she 
repeatedly  pushed  it  away,  till  she  heard  her  husband 
laugh,  and  suddenly  looking  into  his  face,  felt  sure 
that  he  was  amused,  not  by  her,  but  by  some  recollec- 
tion. She  asked  him  to  tell  her  why  he  laughed,  and 
was  not  at  all  satisfied  by  his  reply  that  her  pushing 
the  toad  away  was  ludicrous.  Finding  insistence  vain, 
she  became  angry  because  he  would  not  tell  her  the 
true  reason  for  his  laughter,  and  went  home  in  a  huff. 
He  used  his  best  powers  of  reasoning  to  pacify  her, 
but  she  averred  that  he  had  some  thought  that  he  did 
not  share  with  her  ;  that  after  she  had  lived  with  him 
for  many  years  supposing  that  he  kept  nothing  from 
her,  she  found  that  he  had  concealed  something  ;  that 
she  was  sure  he  had  laughed  with  a  meaning,  and 


THE  LOTUS  POOL. 
119 


A  Wife's  Vengeance.  121 


would  not  tell  her  what  was  the  memory  that  amused 
him.  She  stayed  in  a  passion ;  she  moped ;  she 
neglected  her  toilet ;  she  was  cross  with  her  child ; 
she  made  her  husband  altogether  miserable.  Days 
and  weeks  passed,  and  he  told  her  everything  beside 
the  truth,  but  he  could  neither  win  back  her  smiles, 
nor  convince  her  of  error  in  her  judgment.  He 
thought  the  matter  over  and  over,  and  considered  that 
she  had  lived  happily  with  him  for  many  years,  and 
was  very  fond  of  their  boy;  that  until  the  present 
trouble  arose,  she  had  never  been  other  than  charm- 
ing, and  he  sorely  missed  her  usual  winsomeness  ;  that 
it  must  be  easy  for  a  woman  to  forgive  a  sin  that 
came  from  love  of  her.  After  much  mental  debate, 
seeing  in  her  no  sign  of  yielding  the  point,  and  fear- 
ing that  his  happiness  was  imperilled  by  silence  as 
much  as  by  speech,  he  decided  to  tell  her  all.  He 
sat  down  alone  with  her,  and  said  he  would  tell  her 
whatever  she  wished  to  know.  She  began  to  smile 
so  enchantingly  that  he  was  encouraged  to  go  on,  and 
he  told  her  that  her  pushing  away  with  a  stick  a  toad 
that  kept  swimming  back  toward  her  made  him  think 
how  he  had  treated  his  rival  in  her  affection.  She 
concealed  the  horror  which  his  narrative  inspired,  and 
smiled  and  listened,  and  asked  a  few  questions  with 
winning  curiosity,  till  she  knew  the  whole  story  of 


122  The  Straved  Arrow. 


the  foul  murder  of  her  first  husband.  Then,  shutting 
her  rage  in  her  heart,  she  said :  "  The  dead  are  dead, 
and  we  are  alive  ;  while  we  live  let  us  live  cheerfully." 
She  alluded  to  the  matter  no  more  that  day,  but 
resumed  her  duties  and  pleasures  so  blithely  that  her 
husband  thought  he  had  reasoned  well,  and  that  there 
never  was  so  fascinating  a  woman  as  she.  That  night 
she  stabbed  him  to  the  heart,  while  he  slept.  In  his 
agony  he  rolled  off  the  bed  and  expired  on  the  floor. 
Then  she  put  on  sackcloth,  dishevelled  her  hair, 
girded  her  waist,  and,  sitting  by  the  dead  man, 
awaited  the  morning. 

When  it  grew  late,  without  sound  or  movement  in 
the  room,  her  mother-in-law  came  to  call  the  occu- 
pants to  breakfast.  Getting  no  response  she  opened 
the  door,  and  found  the  corpse  and  the  murderess. 
The  magistrate  was  at  once  notified,  and  the  woman 
was  summoned  for  trial.  Her  own  relatives,  those  of 
her  two  husbands,  and  a  great  concourse  of  spectators 
being  assembled,  she  told  her  story.  Then  the  judge 
said:  ''You  have  yourself  avenged  the  murder  of 
your  first  husband  ;  who  is  to  avenge  the  murder  of 
your  second  husband?"  ''  I,  myself,"  she  answered, 
and  plunged  a  dagger  into  her  own  heart. 

**  Oh,  Pearl,"  said  her  grandfather,  "  your  education  has 
made  you  self-confident.     You  will  some  day  learn  that,  how- 


Stolen  Garlic.  123 


ever  great  the  corruption  of  the  rulers,  their  public  judgments 
are  less  dangerous  than  the  exercise  of  private  vengeance. 
The  individual  should  not  rectify  wrongs  done  to  himself,  for 
he  is  sure  to  lose  sight  of  the  extenuating  circumstances. 
We  all  know  that,  in  ancient  days,  the  magistrates  loved  the 
people,  and  took  no  bribes,  and  strove  to  elicit  truth.  They 
invented  methods  of  inquiry  and  used  all  arts  on  the  side  of 
justice.  Just  now  an  instance  comes  to  my  mind  in  which 
an  ancient  judge  took  unusual  measures  for  recovering  some 

STOLEN  GARLIC. 

A  POOR  man  planted  a  bed  of  garlic,  and  as  he  had 
no  land  besides,  each  plant  was  separately  tended 
and  grew  apace.  When  the  crop  was  almost  large 
enough  for  pulling  he  placed  beside  the  bed  a  port- 
able hutch,  and  slept  there  o'  nights  to  guard  against 
thieves.  After  watching  for  many  nights  without 
seeing  sign  of  trespassers,  he  concluded  that 
there  were  none  about,  and  that  he  might  as  well 
sleep  at  home  ;  so  he  left  the  empty  hutch  beside 
the  garlic  bed,  and  spent  the  night  in  his  own  house. 
When  he  came  back  next  morning  to  water  his 
vegetables,  he  found  that  all  had  been  pulled  and 
carried  off. 

In  consternation  and  tears  he  went  to  the  magis- 
trate and  entered  complaint  of  his  loss.  The  mag- 
istrate called  him  up  for  examination,  and  asked 
him  why  he  did  not  seize  the  thief. 


124  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


"  Because,  your  honor,  I  was  not  there  when  he 
came." 

"  Then  why  do  you  not  bring  as  witness  some  one 
who  saw  him  ?  " 

''  Because,  your  honor,  nobody  caught  a  glimpse 
of  him." 

"  Then  why  did  you  not  bring  from  the  garlic  bed 
some  clue  by  which  he  might  be  traced  ?  " 

"Because,  your  honor,  he  left  nothing  in  the  bed 
besides  the  portable  hutch  which  was  there  before." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  magistrate  ;  "  since  the 
hutch  was  the  only  object  known  to  be  on  the  field 
at  the  time  of  the  theft,  we  will  make  the  hutch  the 
defendant  in  the  suit,  and  to-morrow  morning  you 
will  appear  here  as  plaintiff  against  it." 

The  complaint  and  the  result  of  the  preliminary 
examination  were  reported  far  and  wide,  with  the 
official  announcement  that  on  the  next  morning  a 
portable  hutch  would  be  tried  for  theft.  So  remark- 
able a  trial  had  never  before  been  heard  of,  and  it 
became  the  subject  of  inquiry,  comment,  and  debate 
throughout  the  neighborhood. 

When  the  case  was  called  the  court  was  crowded 
with  spectators.  The  constables  brought  in  the 
hutch  and  put  it  in  the  place  for  prisoners.  It  was 
charged  with  the  crime,  and  as.  it  offered  no  defence 


A    FLOWER    SHOW. 
125 


Stolen  Garlic.  127 


the  maofistrate  ordered  that  it  should  be  beaten  until 
it  confessed  its  guilt.  The  constables  administered 
blows  with  a  will,  leaving  it  shattered  in  pieces.  As 
the  punishment  proceeded,  the  amazement  of  the 
spectators  gave  way  before  their  sense  of  the  ludi- 
crous, and  by  the  time  the  constables  were  following 
up  and  whipping  the  fragments  of  the  hutch  the 
audience  were  laughing  heartily. 

In  apparent  rage  the  magistrate  charged  the  whole 
assembly  with  contempt  of  court,  ordered  all  the 
gates  to  be  shut  and  locked,  and  fined  each  person 
present  a  pound  of  garlic,  with  no  release  till  the  fine 
should  be  paid.  Many  constables  were  deputed  to 
escort  those  who  wished  to  go  out  to  buy  garlic,  and 
each  merrily  spent  a  few  farthings  in  paying  his  fine. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  all  the  garlic  in  the 
market  had  been  bought  up,  and  the  adjoining 
hamlets  had  been  ransacked  to  supply  the  unwonted 
demand.  Each,  as  he  handed  in  his  fine,  was  required 
to  tell  where  he  got  the  garlic,  which  was  then  de- 
posited bunch  by  bunch  in  a  chamber  of  the  court- 
house. 

When  all  the  fines  were  paid,  the  plaintiff  was 
invited  to  examine  the  bunches  of  garlic,  and  to  state 
whether  he  recognized  any  as  his  own.  He  unhesi- 
tatingly declared  certain  bunches  to  be  his,  and  when 


128  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  record  of  the  purchasers  was  examined,  these 
bunches  were  found  to  have  been  all  bought  at  the 
stall  of  a  certain  green-grocer.  The  green-grocer  was 
arrested,  and  made  to  tell  where  he  got  the  stolen 
goods.  He  declared  that  he  knew  nothing  more 
about  the  garlic  than  that  he  had  bought  it  from  a 
certain  villager.  The  villager  was  arrested  and  was 
proven  by  circumstantial  evidence  to  have  committed 
the  theft.  The  magistrate  thus  got  for  himself  a 
great  reputation  for  sagacity  ;  the  thief  got  forty 
blows  ;  and  the  poor  gardener  had  awarded  to  him 
all  the  garlic  that  had  been  received  in  fines  for 
contempt  of  court. 

"  Unfortunately,"  said  one  of  the  uncles,  ''  it  is  not  an 
ancient  but  a  modern  judge  that  we  have  to  deal  with.  If 
some  one  among  the  Hterati  would  advocate  Summers'  case, 
it  would  be  easy  to  get  him  acquitted." 

*'  One  of  my  classmates,"  said  Pearl,  *'  is  sure  to  get  his 
degree,  and  then  when  he  comes  back  with  his  blushing 
honors  he  will  lend  his  powerful  help  in  taking  father  from 
prison." 

Before  the  conclave  broke  up,  it  was  decided  that  Pearl 
should  at  once  start  for  the  Provincial  Capital,to  get  the  imme- 
diate assistance  of  Golden  Branch  and  Grouse  in  her  father's 
lawsuit.  She  set  out,  in  her  student's  dress,  and,  as  she 
was  obliged  to  pass  several  nights  at  inns  along  the  road, 
she  fell  in  with  many  other  travellers.  One  night  the  inn 
was  crowded.  She  could  get  no  private  room,  and  was 
obliged  to  spend  the  long  hours  reclining  on  a  platform  where 

8 


wo    Frugal    Men.  129 


a  dozen  other  sojourners  took  up  their  lodgment.  As  the 
mosquitoes  and  the  heat  made  sleep  impossible,  one  of  the 
most  wakeful  of  the  guests  proposed  story-telling,  and  himself 
began  the  entertainment  with  the  story  of 


TWO  FRUGAL  MEN. 

A  STINGY  man  who  was  going  on  a  journey  took 
with  him  rice  to  boil  for  his  meals,  and  carried  as 
condiment  a  salt  shrimp,  of  which  he  smelled  when- 
ever the  rice  seemed  insipid.  As  he  was  eating  his 
plain  fare  he  noticed  another  traveller,  who  put  his 
chopsticks  into  a  little  jar  and  then  carried  them 
empty  to  his  mouth.  He  was  curious  to  know  how 
economy  greater  than  his  own  could  be  practised  con- 
sistently with  the  satisfaction  of  appetite,  and  so  he 
accosted  his  fellow-traveller,  asking  him  to  explain 
his  method.  The  man,  who  had  observed  the  frugal 
device  of  the  inquirer,  and  recognized  in  him  a  kin- 
dred spirit,  readily  communicated  his  secret.  He  said 
he  carried  a  mug  of  brine,  dipped  his  chopsticks 
therein,  and  touched  his  tongue  whenever  he  wished 
to  give  zest  to  his  repast. 

The  admiration  of  the  other  was  won,  and  the 
two  men  had  such  confab  as  is  possible  only  between 
congenial  minds  bent  on  a  common  object. 

It  appeared  that  the  brine-taster  had  a  marriageable 


130  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


son,  while  the  shrimp-smeller  had  a  daughter  of  the 
same  age.  A  betrothal  between  the  two  was  settled 
upon,  and  the  two  men,  having  thus  plighted  kinship, 
went  each  his  way.  The  brine-taster  was  returning  to 
his  abode,  and  as  the  route  of  the  shrimp -man  took 
him  a  few  days  later  past  the  door  of  his  new  relative 
he  improved  the  opportunity  and  called  to  see  him. 
He  was  received  with  demonstrations  of  great  pleasure 
and  the  host,  within  hearing  of  the  guest,  gave  order 
that  a  very  large  fish,  one  not  less  than  six  inches 
long,  should  be  bought  and  cooked  for  supper.  The 
fish  having  been  brought,  the  host  thought  it  more 
than  was  necessary  for  one  meal,  and  directed  that 
the  one  half  of  it  be  put  in  pickle,  and  that  the  half 
bearing  the  tail  should  be  fried.  When  the  guest  sat 
down  to  supper  and  saw  the  fried  fish  he  exclaimed 
against  the  extravagant  hospitality  displayed,  and  de- 
clared that,  rather  than  a  second  time  cause  such  out- 
lay to  his  friend,  he  should  start  for  his  home  next 
morning  before  breakfast.  This  he,  in  fact,  did,  with 
many  expressions  of  regret  at  having  been  the  cause 
of  expense  to  his  host. 

On  reaching  home  he  found  that  a  guest  had  ar- 
rived just  before  him,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  his 
wife  he  took  a  basket  and  went  toward  the  market  to 
buy  something  to  eat.     Meditating  on  what  he  could 


Two    Frugal    Men.  131 


get  cheap,  he  remembered  what  he  had  had  for  sup- 
per the  previous  evening,  and  sent  a  boy  with  a  note 
to  his  host,  saying  :  ''  A  visitor  has  unexpectedly  ar- 
rived at  my  house,  and  I  send  to  ask  the  loan  of  your 
pickled  fish,  with  which  to  grace  my  humble  board." 
The  messenger  soon  returned  with  the  fish,  and  a 
letter  saying  :  *'  Since  it  is  you  who  ask  it,  I  cannot 
do  otherwise  than  send  the  fish.  But  do  not  allow  it 
to  be  softened  by  water.  Fry  it  hard,  so  that  the 
chopsticks  pointed  toward  it  may  not  spoil  its  contour. 
Fry  it  hard,  I  say,  and  then  you  can  return  it  to  me 
intact." 

The  innkeeper's  son  had  brought  in  hot  tea,  and  he  stopped 
to  remark  that  men  would  often  pay  out  one  large  sum  of 
money  ungrudgingly,  while  they  would  refuse  to  pay  a  lesser 
amount  in  driblets.  One  of  his  relatives  was  a  widower 
who  had  three  sons  and  three  daughters-in-law,  all  of  whom 
lived  with  him  till  their  families  became  so  large  that  he 
built  new  houses  and  divided  his  land  among  his  sons.  To 
each  son  he  gave  land  and  a  house ;  and  then  he  told  his 
daughters-in-law  that  when  they  should  leave  his  house  they 
should  take  with  them  none  of  its  furniture,  but  that  he 
would  buy  for  each  all  that  she  should  require  to  furnish 
her  new  home,  if  she  would  but  tell  him  what  she  needed. 
The  eldest  daughter-in-law  gave  him  her  list  verbally.  It 
included  saucepans,  skimmers,  dippers,  pots,  kettles,  jars, 
skewers,  plates,  cups,  and  dozens  of  other  items ;  and  when 
she  thought  she  had  only  begun  to  make  known  her  needs, 
the  old  man  told  her  to  stop  ;  that  he  should  never  be  able 
to  buy  all  she  wanted  ;  and  in  a  rage  he  sent  her  away. 


132  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


The  second  daughter-in-law  judiciously  tried  to  shorten  her 
list,  and  had  it  written  out  under  heads  of  furniture,  bed- 
ding, and  kitchen  utensils ;  but  she  was  likewise  summarily 
dismissed  on  suspicion  of  reducing  the  old  man  to  poverty. 
When  the  third  daughter-in-law  came  to  express  her  require- 
ments, the  old  man  was  surly,  and  sharply  inquired  how 
many  things  she  wanted.  She  told  him  she  wanted  but  one, 
and  he  at  once  assured  her  that  she  should  have  it.  She 
then  named  a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  furnish  her  house, 
and  the  old  man  willingly  gave  her  the  amount.  She  bought 
with  it  more  than  her  sisters-in-law  had  asked  for,  and  had 
pin-money  left. 

A  traveller  in  a  horse-hair  cap,  ornamented  with  a  large 
red  silk  button,  said  that  men  sometimes  contributed  a 
thousand  ounces  of  silver  toward  the  building  of  a  Confucian 
temple,  and  scowled  when  their  wives  asked  them  for  cop- 
pers to  buy  a  broom  with. 

Pearl  was  wondering  whether  Golden  Branch  would  be  as 
fair  toward  her  when  he  should  know  that  she  was  a  woman 
as  he  had  always  been  while  he  supposed  her  to  be  a  man  ; 
and  as  she  thought,  her  anxiety  deepened.  But  a  traveller 
in  a  purple-damask  sleeveless  coat  just  then  said  that  the  story 
of  the  two  frugal  men  had  reminded  him  of  one  about 

THE  MOST  FRUGAL  OF  MEN. 

A  MAN  who  was  the  most  frugal  in  the  kingdom 
heard  of  another  man  who  was  the  most  frugal  in 
the  world.  He  said  to  his  son  :  **  We  live  upon 
little,  but  if  we  were  more  frugal  we  might  live  upon 
nothing.  It  will  be  worth  while  for  us  to  get  instruc- 
tion in  economy  from  the  most  frugal  of  men."     The 


The  Most  Frugal  of  Men.      133 


son  agreed,  and  the  two  decided  that  the  son  should' 
go  and  inquire  whether  the  master  in  economic 
science  would  take  pupils.  An  exchange  of  presents 
being  a  necessary  preliminary  to  closer  intercourse, 
the  father  told  the  son  to  take  the  smallest  of  coins, 
one  farthing,  and  to  buy  a  sheet  of  paper  of  the 
cheapest  sort.  The  boy  by  bargaining  got  two 
sheets  of  paper  for  the  farthing.  The  father  put 
away  one  sheet,  cut  the  other  sheet  in  halves,  and  on 
one  half  drew  a  picture  of  a  pig's  head.  This  he  put 
into  a  large  covered  basket,  as  if  it  were  the  thing 
which  it  represented — the  usual  gift  sent  in  token  of 
great  respect.  The  son  took  the  basket,  and  after  a 
long  journey  reached  the  abode  of  the  most  frugal 
man  in  the  world. 

The  master  of  the  house  was  absent,  but  his  son 
received  the  traveller,  learned  his  errand,  and  ac- 
cepted the  offering.  Having  taken  from  the  basket 
the  picture  of  the  pig's  head,  he  said,  courteously,  to 
his  visitor :  **  I  am  sorry  that  we  have  nothing  in  the 
house  that  is  worthy  to  take  the  place  of  the  pig's 
head  in  your  basket.  I  will,  however,  signify  our 
friendly  reception  of  it  by  putting  in  four  oranges  for 
you  to  take  home  with  you." 

Thereupon  the  young  man,  without  having  any 
oranges  at  hand,   made  the   motions  necessary  for 


134  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


putting  the  oranges  into  the  basket.  The  son  of  the 
most  frugal  man  in  the  kingdom  then  took  his  basket 
and  went  to  his  father  to  tell  of  thrift  surpassing 
his  own. 

When  the  most  frugal  man  in  the  world  returned 
home  his  son  told  him  that  a  visitor  had  been  there, 
having  come  from  a  great  distance  to  take  lessons  in 
economy.  The  father  inquired  what  offering  he 
brought  as  an  introduction,  and  the  son  showed  the 
small  outline  of  the  pig's  head  on  thin  brown  paper. 
The  father  looked  at  it,  and  then  asked  his  son  what 
he  had  sent  as  a  return  present.  The  son  told  him 
he  had  merely  made  the  motions  necessary  for  trans- 
ferring four  oranges,  and  showed  how  he  had  clasped 
the  imaginary  oranges  and  deposited  them  in  the 
visitor's  basket.  The  father  flew  into  a  rage  and 
boxed  the  boy's  ears,  exclaiming  :  ''You  extravagant 
wretch !  With  your  fingers  thus  far  apart  you 
appeared  to  give  him  large  oranges.  Why  did  n't 
you  measure  out  small  ones  ?  " 

A  burly  man  in  a  blue  tunic  said  he  had  thought  of  a  story, 
but  he  suddenly  started  up,  and  snatching  off  his  shoe, 
struck  with  it  at  a  gray  house-lizard,  which  was  considered 
by  them  all  to  be  very  poisonous.  The  enemy  having  been 
dispatched,  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  dangers  in-' 
curred  through  these  little  pests,  and  the  burly  man  remarked 
that  a  relative  of  his  had  been  brought  to  death's  door  by 


The  Strayed  Arrow.  135 


the  mere  fancy  that  he  had  swallowed  a  portion  of  one. 
The  man,  who  was  cooking  his  mid-day  meal,  left  the  cover 
off  his  pot  and  a  lizard  fell  in  and  was  cooked.  While  eat- 
ing his  porridge  the  man  found  the  hinder  half  of  the  lizard 
in  his  mouth,  and  was  so  horrified  by  the  idea  that  he  had 
swallowed  the  other  half  of  the  creature,  that  he  lost  his 
appetite,  became  sallow  and  feeble,  and  in  danger  of  death 
through  debility.  He  invited  the  best  physicians  to  pre- 
scribe for  him,  telling  each  the  cause  of  his  malady,  and  one 
after  another  undertook  to  cure  him,  but  each  finally  gave 
up  his  case  in  despair.  At  last  a  quack,  having  indirectly 
heard  the  tale  that  had  been  told  to  more  honest  men,  came 
and  proposed  to  the  patient  to  cure  him,  provided  that  he 
would  suitably  manifest  his  gratitude  after  his  restoration  to 
health.  This  being  agreed  to,  the  quack  assured  the  patient 
that  he  possessed  a  remarkable  remedy,  known  to  but  few, 
very  costly,  and  so  potent  that  a  single  dose  infallibly 
removed  all  poison  from  the  system.  He  then  administered 
a  powerful  emetic,  and  at  a  moment  of  terrible  nausea 
dropped  the  anterior  half  of  a  boiled  lizard  so  that  it 
appeared  to  fall  from  the  patient's  mouth.  The  attention 
of  the  patient  was  then  called  to  it,  and  he  delightedly 
acquiesced  in  the  assertion  that  the  cause  of  his  ailment  was 
removed.  From  that  hour  he  gained  appetite  and  strength, 
and  became  well  and  portly.  The  quack  was  well  rewarded 
for  his  supposed  skill,  and  his  fame  spread  widely,  from  the 
mouth  of  his  grateful  patient. 

"  The  saying  goes,"  said  Pearl,  "  that  *  an  imaginary 
disease  may  be  cured  by  a  quack  medicine,  but  a  real  disease 
no  medicine  can  cure.'  "  She  then  asked  the  burly  man  for 
his  story  and  he  narrated  one  concerning 


136         The  Strayed  Arrow. 


MISAPPLIED  WIT. 

A  YOUNG  literary  graduate  was  on  his  way  home 
from  the  city-school  where  he  taught.  The  trustee 
had  paid  him  ten  ounces  of  silver,  and  he  was  hasten- 
ing to  spend  New  Year  with  his  wife  and  children  in 
his  native  village.  On  the  road  he  met  a  woman 
carrying  a  sleeping  infant,  and  crying  bitterly.  He 
inquired  the  cause  of  her  distress,  and  when  he 
learned  that  her  husband  had  been  imprisoned  for  a 
debt  of  ten  ounces  of  silver,  he  gave  her  all  he  had, 
and  went  on  his  way  with  an  empty  stomacher. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  at  his  own  house,  his  wife 
told  him  of  accumulated  market-bills  that  she  had 
promised  to  pay  on  his  return,  and  of  household 
requirements  that  he  must  provide  for.  He  was 
therefore  obliged  to  confess  to  her  that  he  had  given 
away  all  that  was  due  on  his  salary.  She  advised 
him  to  go  to  a  neighboring  cooper,  to  borrow  his 
tools,  and  to  go  off  during  the  holidays,  mending 
buckets  at  the  doors  of  such  as  would  employ  him, 
thus  earning  something  with  which  to  meet  the 
demands  of  his  family.  As  the  wife's  discomfort 
was  the  result  of  his  own  hasty  compassion,  the  man 
felt  obliged  to  act  upon  her  suggestion,  and  so  he 
borrowed  the  tools  and  set  out  as  an  itinerant  cooper. 
He  first  found  work  at  the  house  of  a  rich  but  illite- 


THE    BRIDGE. 


Misapplied  Wit.  139 


rate  old  couple  ;  and  as  he  sat  mending  the  wash-tub, 
he  heard  the  husband  and  wife  arguing  over  a  letter 
which  they  had  received,  and  he  learned  that  neither 
they  nor  any  of  their  neighbors  had  been  able  to 
decipher  it.  He  proposed  to  read  the  letter  for  them, 
and,  after  some  demur  at  a  mere  cooper's  pretensions 
to  scholarship,  they  handed  him  the  epistle,  which  was 
evidently  designed  by  one  who  knew  himself  to  be  in 
communication  with  unlearned  folk.  The  hieroglyph- 
ics depicted  a  goose  beside  a  bed  of  lettuce  ;  an  old 
man  watching  the  goose  ;  a  river,  with  a  plum-tree 
on  its  bank  ;  and  four  turtles  underneath  the  tree. 

The  cooper  looked  at  the  rebus,  and  immediately 
said,  "  This  letter  is  from  your  adopted  son."  *'  How 
do  you  know  that  ?  "  inquired  the  old  man.  "  Be- 
cause," said  the  reader,  "  a  goose  is  the  symbol  of 
humble  acknowledgment  of  having  been  bought 
and  reared,  as  one  gets  and  feeds  a  goose  on  the 
products  of  one's  garden.  Then,  you  are  expecting 
to  hear  from  your  son,  since  this  old  man  looks 
toward  the  goose.  You  expect  money  from  him, 
and  may  get  it  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Plum,  who 
lives  beside  the  river.  That  is  shown  by  the  plum- 
tree  depicted  on  the  bank  of  the  stream.  He  has 
received  sixteen  dollars  for  you,  and  this  is  indicated 
by  the  legs  of  the  four  turtles,  four  times  four." 


140  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


The  old  man  was  delighted  with  this  rendering  of 
the  letter,  and  hastened  to  ascertain  whether  it  was 
wholly  true.  Having  verified  it  in  every  particular, 
he  returned  with  a  present  of  a  boar's  head  for  the 
learned  cooper.  On  receiving  the  pig's  head,  the 
young  man  at  once  saw  that  the  gift  was  excellent  of 
its  kind,  and  extemporized  the  following  verse  : 

Eyes  sunk  in  fat ;  nose  broad  and  flat  ; 

Cheeks  that  a  pudgy  width  of  jaw  display  ; 
Ears  standing  out,  hairy  and  stout ; 

I  '11  take  it  home,  and  make  a  holiday. 

This  well-expressed  appreciation  of  the  good 
points  of  swine  so  delighted  the  old  couple  that  they 
gave  the  cooper  ten  ounces  of  silver  in  payment  for 
his  services,  and  he  went  home  with  much  satisfac- 
tion, and  returned  the  borrowed  tools  to  the  real 
cooper  s  wife,  to  whom  he  told  the  story  of  his  suc- 
cess, and  how  he  attained  it.  The  cooper's  wife  was 
also  greatly  pleased  with  the  terse  description  of  a 
fine  boar's  head,  and  when  her  husband  came  home 
she  told  him  about  it,  and  of  the  large  pay  which  the 
verse  had  brought  to  its  author.  So  the  next  day 
when  the  cooper  went  out  to  his  usual  work,  he 
thought  he  would  on  the  earliest  opportunity  try  his 
kick  with  the  stanza.  His  first  employers  chanced  to 
be  a  prosperous  couple,  in  which  the  wife  was  very 


Similar  Diseases.  141 


obese.  She  pothered  around  in  the  kitchen  while 
the  cooper  was  mending  the  tubs,  and  when  he  had 
finished  his  work,  and  when  the  householder  was 
about  to  hand  him  his  pay,  he  thought  the  time  had 
come  for  the  repetition  of  the  stanza.  So,  looking 
at  the  wife,  he  began  : 

"  Eyes  sunk  in  fat  ;  nose  broad  and  flat  ; 

Cheeks  that  a  pudgy  width  of  jaw  display  ; 
Ears  standing  out, " 

At    this    point    the    amazed  and  enraged   husband 

caught  up  a  cudgel  and  chased  the  poetical  cooper 

off  the  premises,  warning  him  never  to  reappear  in 

that  region  again  ;  and  so  he  had  to  go  home  without 

money  or  credit. 

Moral  :    The   learned   may   ply   the  tools  of  the 

tradesman,  but  the  illiterate  cannot  safely  apply  the 

wit  of  the  wise. 

"  My  story  is  short,"  said  a  stout  sugar-merchant,  who 
had  been  nodding  during  the  last  recital  ;  "  I  see  that  I  have 
wakened  in  time  to  *  reach  the  mill  just  as  the  grist  is  out,' 
as  the  saying  goes.     I  will  tell  you  of  cronies  who  had 

SIMILAR  DISEASES. 

Two  old  men,  related  by  the  marriage  of  their 
children,  vied  with  each  other  in  getting  handsome 
furniture  and  apparel,  and  each   reached  the  height 


142  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


of  pleasure  when  the  other  discovered  that  he  had 
been  outdone.  It  so  happened  that  the  two  simul- 
taneously bought  new  articles,  the  one  a  carved  bed- 
stead, the  other  a  pair  of  silk  trowsers  ;  and  as 
neither  would  appear  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
other  to  his  latest  acquisition,  they  stayed  each  at 
home,  the  first  pretending  illness  so  that  when  his 
friend  should  drop  in  he  could  be  brought  into  the 
bedroom  where  the  new  bedstead  was  set  up,  the 
second  bent  upon  wearing  his  trowsers  w^ithout 
rumpling  them  till  his  friend  should  have  dropped  in 
and  seen  them  on  his  legs.  Each  wondered  why  the 
other  failed  to  make  the  usual  casual  visits,  and  each 
grew  weary  in  waiting,  the  one  on  his  bed,  the  other 
in  his  chair.  The  man  with  the  new  trowsers  first 
yielded  to  the  felt  want  of  seeing  his  crony,  and  so 
went  to  inquire  after  him.  The  visitor  was  taken 
into  the  bedroom,  and,  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  bed- 
stead, correctly  diagnosticated  the  case  ;  but  he  was 
determined  that  he  would  not  give  sign  of  having 
noticed  the  bedstead  until  after  some  compliment 
should  have  been  paid  to  his  trowsers.  These  were, 
unfortunately,  quite  out  of  the  range  of  vision  of  the 
pseudo-invalid,  who  lay  persistently  on  his  back. 
After  considerable  skirmishing,  in  which  each  subtly 
endeavored,  and  failed,  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 


1  \';!  1)1  ii   1 


Kv 


.;Stfc--{^. 


CONSULTING   A  SOOTHSAYER. 
143 


Similar    Diseases.  145 


other  in  the  desired  direction,  the  man  on  the  bed 
inquired  why  his  friend  had  not  been  to  see  him  dur- 
ing all  the  last  few  days,  while  he  had  been  so  ill. 
*'  Oh,"  said  the  other,  putting  one  foot  upon  the 
side  of  the  bed,  so  as  to  bring  his  trowsers  into  view, 
leaning  his  elbow  on  his  knee,  and  looking  intensely 
melancholy — "  Oh,  I  have  had  exactly  the  same 
ailment  that  you  have  ! " 

The  next  man  in  the  circle  of  speakers  took  from  his 
mouth  a  tobacco-pipe,  with  a  stem  a  yard  long,  and  a  bowl 
of  the  size  of  a  thimble,  stuck  it  into  the  leg  of  his  stocking, 
attached  his  tobacco-pouch  to  a  button  of  his  tunic,  and 
said  he  would  tell  an  anecdote  which  he  had  in  former  years 
heard  from  a  friend  of  his  who  was  a  prosperous  vermicelli- 
maker.  He  was  now  going  to  visit  this  friend's  only  son, 
whose  history  was  rather  interesting.  He  grew  up  in  idle- 
ness, gambled,  and  never  learned  his  father's  trade.  He 
was  an  exemplification  of  the  proverb,  "  An  indulgent 
mother  rears  bad  children."  The  father  died  suddenly,  and 
as  the  son  was  unable  to  conduct  the  business  of  vermicelli- 
making,  he  hired  a  master-workman.  This  master  stole  his 
goods,  wasted  his  materials,  and  brought  him  near  ruin. 
He  was  then  deeply  sorry  he  had  not  learned  the  business 
from  his  father.  While  he  was  worrying  over  the  matter, 
and  lamenting  his  inability  to  make  vermicelli  himself,  he 
one  night  dreamed  that  his  father  came  and  taught  him  the 
proper  mode  of  manufacture,  the  proportions  of  flour,  water, 
and  salt ;  the  manner  of  mixing,  and  all  other  necessary  de- 
tails. The  next  morning  he  took  sole  charge  of  his  busi- 
ness, succeeded  perfectly  in  his  craft,  regained  his  father's 
position,  and  became  an  exemplary  man. 


146  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


Several  others  were  at  once  reminded  of  dreams  that  had 
been  remarkably  prophetic  or  corrective,  and  were  on  the 
point  of  telling  them,  when  Pearl  begged  to  hear  the  ver- 
micelli-maker's anecdote,  and  so  directed  general  atten- 
tion to 

A  DREAM  INSPIRED. 

A  THIEF,  w^ho  knew  that  an  old  woman  had  some 
silver  coins,  went  into  her  room  at  night,  when  she 
was  snoring  steadily,  to  steal  them.  He  explored 
every  cranny,  and  poked  in  every  pocket  where  he 
thought  she  might  keep  her  money,  but  he  could  not 
find  it.  Wondering  how  she  could  be  so  clever  as  to 
think  of  a  place  of  concealment  that  he  could  not 
discover,  he  thought  of  a  ruse  whereby  he  could  make 
her  reveal  it.  Putting  his  mouth  close  to  her  ear  he 
whispered,  "  A  thief  has  come  to  get  your  money," 
and  then  hid  himself  under  her  bed.  She  woke,  so- 
liloquized concerning  the  bad  dream  she  had  had, 
considered  aloud  whether  she  really  heard  a  voice 
or  dreamed  a  warning,  then  got  up,  turned  up  a  tub, 
took  out  from  beneath  it  a  parcel,  and  counted  her 
coins.  Finding  them  all  there,  she  berated  herself 
for  her  folly  in  getting  out  of  bed  on  account  of  her 
dream,  and  then  went  back  to  her  slumbers.  The 
wily  thief,  who  had  been  watching  her  while  she  car- 
ried out  the  programme  he  had  foreseen,  waited  only 


A   Fortuitous  Application.      147 


until  she  snored  again,  and  then  took  her  money  and 
departed. 

" '  An  unlearned  knave  will  often  outwit  a  scholar/  says 
the  proverb  ;  and  *  an  old  woman  is  easily  deluded/  "  re- 
marked the  narrator. 

It  was  now  Pearl's  turn  to  amuse  the  company.  The 
greater  number  were  asleep,  but  a  few  still  fanned  them- 
selves wearily,  and  Pearl's  soft  voice  lulled  all  to  repose, 
though  she  told  the  funniest  story  she  could  at  the  moment 
remember,  one  about 

A  FORTUITOUS  APPLICATION. 

An  old  woman,  who  lived  all  alone,  heard  it  said 
that ''  The  devils  dance  on  one  who  knows  no  poetry"  ; 
so  she  decided  to  learn  some.  She  looked  out  of  her 
door,  saw  a  man  working  in  a  field,  took  a  cake  with 
her,  and  went  and  asked  him  if  he  would  teach  her  a 
verse  if  she  would  give  him  the  cake.  He  readily 
consented,  but  when  he  had  eaten  the  cake,  he  found 
that  he  could  not  think  of  any  poetry,  and  he  told  her 
to  follow  him  along  the  road,  and  he  would  teach  her 
as  they  went.  His  plan  was  to  give  himself  time  to 
recollect  a  rhyme,  but  none  would  come  to  his  mind, 
and  when  the  old  woman  became  impatient,  he  desper- 
ately resolved  to  compose  a  stanza.  Here  he  was 
again  at  a  loss,  and  as  the  old  woman  was  tired  and 
clamorous,  he  suggested  that  they  sit  down  by  a  well 


4 

148  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


to  rest,  while  he  should  teach  her.  Just  as  they 
seated  themselves  a  frog  put  his  head  out  of  a  chink 
in  the  well-curb,  and  afforded  him  a  subject.  He  ad- 
dressed it,  saying, 

Now  you  stick  out  your  head  ; 
Now  you  draw  your  head  in  ; 
Now  you  sit  by  your  hole, 
And  you  rub  your  bare  chin. 

The  pupil  thought  this  might  be  poetry,  and  with 
some  difficulty  she  committed  it  to  memory,  and 
went  back  home. 

She  repeated  it  frequently  during  the  evening,  to 
make  sure  that  she  remembered  it,  and  recited  it  to 
herself  the  last  thing  before  she  went  to  sleep.  As 
it  happened,  two  young  robbers  came  that  night,  one 
intending  to  crawl  in  through  a  hole  in  her  wall,  and 
hand  out  to  the  other  whatever  portable  articles  he 
could  lay  hands  on,  while  she  slept.  Just  as  he  put 
his  head  into  her  room,  she,  fast  asleep,  but  with  her 
lesson  still  on  her  mind,  recited,  *'  Now  you  stick  out 
your  head  "  ;  and  as  he,  surprised  at  being  discovered 
in  the  darkness,  drew  back,  she  continued,  ''  Now 
you  draw  your  head  in."  This  made  him  sure  he  had 
been  seen  by  some  one  who  was  not  afraid  of  him, 
and  he  got  outside  the  hole,  and  told  his  fellow  that 
there    was    somebody   inside  who  could  see    in    the 


A  BEQQAR  AND  HIS  BLIND  WIFE. 


A  Fortuitous  Application,      i  5  i 


dark.  He  sat  scratching  his  face,  and  doubting 
whether  he  had  better  make  another  entrance,  when 
he  heard  the  same  voice  saying  : 

"  Now  you  sit  by  your  hole, 
And  you  rub  your  bare  chin." 

At  this  he  signalled  to  his  companion,  and  they 
both  fled,  convinced  that  the  old  woman  could  not 
only  see  in  the  dark,  but  also  through  a  wall.  When 
they  had  reached  their  covert  they  debated  the 
matter,  and  agreed  that  the  next  day  they  would  try 
to  find  out  how  the  old  woman  had  discovered  them. 
They  therefore  disguised  themselves  as  butchers,  took 
their  knives  along,  and  went  from  house  to  house 
inquiring  whether  the  householders  wanted  hogs 
slaughtered.  When  they  approached  the  old  woman's 
house,  she  was  out  by  the  roadside  scraping  a  pan. 
She  had  been  troubled  by  fleas  during  the  night,  and 
just  at  that  moment  she  felt  one  bite.  Running  her 
hand  into  her  gown,  she  put  her  finger  upon  two  fleas 
at  once,  and  exclaimed  :  "  There  they  are,  the  very 
ones  that  were  around  last  night  ! "  The  two  men 
thought  they  were  recognized,  and  hurried  off,  con- 
vinced that  they  might  better  keep  away  from  a 
woman  who  had  such  remarkably  good  eyes. 

When  Pearl  had  finished  her  story,  a  little  maid  at  the 
door  beckoned  to  her,  trying  to  keep  herself  meanwhile  from 


152  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  sight  of  all  the  other  travellers.  Pearl  soon  went  quietly^ 
out,  found  that  the  full  moon  had  risen,  and  that  the  court 
was  unoccupied  by  any  one  beside  a  young  girl,  who  had 
been  carrying  water  and  feeding  the  animals  about  the  inn 
during  the  previous  evening.  The  girl  drew  Pearl  into  a 
corner  of  the  court,  remote  from  the  sleeping-rooms,  and 
said  :  "  My  name  is  Marigold,  and  I  have  neither  father,  nor 
mother,  nor  grandparents.  I  live  here  with  this  innkeeper,, 
who  is  my  distant  relative,  and  who  gives  me  little  but 
blows  for  my  hard  work.  I  have  been  looking  at  you  oftea 
since  you  came,  and  your  sadness  has  made  me  pity  you,, 
while  your  dignity  has  made  me  revere  you.  I  see  that  you 
are  a  student,  and  your  soft  voice  shows  that  you  are 
gentle.  If  you  will  let  me  flee  away  from  here  with  you,  I 
will  serve  you  faithfully,  and  work  for  you  diligently,  and 
will  be  to  you  the  most  obedient  of  wives."  Pearl  sent  the 
girl  away  to  sleep,  telling  her  that  she  would  think  what  she 
could  do  for  her. 

The  next  morning  Pearl  sought  the  innkeeper,  made  with 
him  a  betrothal  contract  for  Marigold,  paid  the  sum  neces- 
sary to  bind  the  bargain,  and  agreed  that,  on  her  return 
from  the  capital,  she  would  bring  the  wedding  gifts,  and 
take  her  bride  away  with  her  to  her  distant  home.  She  then 
proceeded  to  the  capital,  where  she  joined  Golden  Branch, 
and  learned  that  Grouse  had  gone  home.  The  two  young 
men  had  each  passed  the  examinations  with  great  credit, 
and  had  gained  the  expected  honors.  Grouse  had  at  once 
hastened  homeward,  intending  to  claim  his  promised  bride 
from  her  elder  brother,  his  fellow-student ;  while  Golden 
Branch  had  remained  to  see  the  sights  of  the  great  metropo- 
lis. A  few  days  later,  while  Pearl  and  Golden  Branch  were 
seeking  to  procure,  through  the  influence  of  high  officers  at 
the  capital,  the  release  of  Mr.  Summers,  they  heard  from 
Grouse  that  he  had,  on  reaching  home,  been  informed  of  the 


The  Strayed  Arrow.  153 


trouble  in  which  his  prospective  father-in-law  was  plunged, 
and  had  at  once  entered  into  the  case,  and  had  secured  a 
costless  acquittal.  Mr.  Summers  sent  to  Pearl  the  good 
news  of  his  release,  and  added  that,  when  he  had  asked  his 
benefactor  what  guerdon  he  could  give  for  the  help  received, 
Grouse  had  replied  :  ''  Your  son  has  promised  me  his  younger 
sister  in  marriage.  Let  me  have  her  now,  that  I  may  take 
her  home  before  the  cares  of  office  come  upon  me."  Mr. 
Summers  had  consulted  his  wife,  who  said  :  ''  Our  Pearl  has 
evidently  promised  herself  to  this  man.  Go  and  tell  him  to 
wait  until  his  classmate,  who  made  him  the  promise,  comes 
back  from  the  capital ;  then  we  will  confer  about  this  im- 
portant matter.  It  is  proper  that  the  one  who  made  the 
betrothal  should  be  present  at  the  wedding.  Make  it  plain 
to  him  that  we  will  do  nothing  till  our  son  returns." 

Meanwhile  Pearl,  at  the  capital,  in  hourly  conference  with 
Golden  Branch,  grew  ever  more  winsome  in  his  eyes.  At 
first,  in  the  closer  intercourse  than  they  had  ever  before  had, 
he  only  wondered  at  the  feminine  traits  of  his  friend.  But 
one  day,  in  Pearl's  absence,  he  entered  her  room,  and  found 
upon  the  floor  a  paper  which  she  had  inadvertently  dropped, 
and  he  read  upon  it,  in  her  handwriting,  her  poem  of 

THE  STRAYED  ARROW. 

I  shot  an  arrow  in  the  air, 
That  it  might  secret  message  bear, 
^  Of  love  from  hidden  maid  ; 

Bitter  indeed  is  woman's  lot 
When  shackled  where  her  heart  is  not : 
Alas  !    My  arrow  strayed. 

For  Golden  Branch  my  dart  was  meant  ; 
A  cruel  fate  the  pledge  missent, 

And  all  my  trust  betrayed. 
The  high,  still  Heaven  heard  not  my  prayer  ; 
Now  earth  holds  nothing  worth  my  care  ; 

Alas  !     My  arrow  strayed. 


154  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


Golden  Branch  pondered  much  on  the  meaning  of  this 
poem,  and  having  reached  a  just  conclusion,  he  next  day- 
took  opportunities  of  looking  steadily  at  Pearl,  who  invari- 
ably blushed  under  his  gaze,  and  then,  upon  his  accusation, 
owned  her  sex  in  words.  Then  he  told  her  that  it  was  he 
who  had  picked  up  her  arrow,  and  who  would  claim  a  bride 
from  her  hands. 

By  this  time  the  news  of  her  father's  release  through  the 
efforts  of  Grouse,  had  reached  Pearl,  and  at  the  same  mo- 
ment word  came  from  her  mother  that  her  mythical  younger 
sister  had  an  importunate  suitor,  who  had  been  put  off  with 
the  plea  that  it  would  be  cruel  to  take  the  young  girl  from 
her  home  before  she  should  have  greeted  her  brother  on  his 
return  from  the  capital.  All  things  conspiring  to  hasten  her 
homeward,  Pearl  set  out  on  her  journey,  taking  passage  for  a 
part  of  the  way  on  a  large  boat  where  she  passed  several 
nights.  One  evening,  sitting  on  deck  with  a  few  of  her  fel- 
low-voyagers, one  of  them  proposed  the  whiling  away  of  the 
time  with  stories ;  and  Pearl  began  with  that  of 

JEAN   VALJEAN   IN   CATHAY. 

It  was  the  birthday  of  an  honored  man,  and  his 
sons  and  servants  were  busy  receiving  messengers, 
who  came  with  gifts  and  congratulations.  A  thief, 
who  knew  that  among  the  presents  there  were  articles 
of  value,  slipped  in  and  secreted  himself  by  lying  face 
downward  on  a  tie-beam  in  the  roof  of  the  great  hall, 
where  a  banquet  was  to  be  served  in  the  evening. 
From  this  quoin  of  vantage  he  overlooked  the  open- 
ing of  parcels  of  silk,  crape,  jade,  and  jewels,  and  took 


A  WHEELED  CHAIR. 


Jean  Valjean  in  Cathay.        157 


note  where  they  were  deposited,  intending  to  take 
them  away  after  the  guests  should  have  departed  and 
the  family  gone  to  sleep. 

The  master  of  the  house  arranged  his  birthday- 
gifts  for  the  inspection  of  his  relatives,  and  received 
the  donors,  in  the  evening,  at  a  magnificent  feast.  Late 
at  night,  when  the  guests  had  all  taken  leave,  and  the 
servants  had  retired,  the  host  lingered  to  put  away 
some  of  the  presents.  As  he  leaned  over  a  drawer, 
with  his  back  toward  the  thief,  the  latter  looked  over 
the  beam  to  take  a  final  survey  of  the  room  before 
the  lights  should  be  put  out,  and  his  head  cast  a 
shadow  on  the  floor.  The  host  betrayed  no  sign  of 
his  having  observed  the  moving  shadow,  but  he  soon 
after  called  a  servant,  and  bade  him  bring  the  choicest 
viands  and  lay  the  table  for  a  single  guest.  When 
this  was  done  the  host  inquired  whether  all  the  in- 
mates of  the  house  had  retired  to  rest,  and  on  being 
informed  that  they  had,  he  dismissed  the  servant  for 
the  night.  Then  turning  toward  the  beam  on  which 
the  thief  lay,  and  making  obeisance  as  to  a  noble 
guest,  he  said  :  "  Will  the  gentleman  who  is  on  the 
roof-beam  now  come  down  and  partake  of  refresh- 
ments?" As  there  was  nothing  else  that  he  could 
reasonably  do,  the  thief  descended,  and  was  led  to 
the  table  by  his  host,  who  served  him  while  he  ate. 


158  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


When  he  had  finished  his  repast  his  host  gave  him  a 
bag  of  silver  coins,  begged  him  to  make  good  use  of 
them,  and  dismissed  him  courteously  from  his  door. 

Tens  of  years  passed,  and  brought  the  eightieth 
birthday  of  the  host.  His  honors  had  increased,  and 
his  descendants  were  many.  During  the  day  costly 
gifts  were  sent  to  him  by  friends,  who  were  all  invited 
to  sup  with  him  that  evening.  His  grandson  received 
the  presents  at  his  door,  and  brought  them  to  his 
apartment.  Toward  nightfall  his  grandson  came  to 
him  with  a  priceless  gem,  and  said  that  it  had  been 
brought  by  a  stranger  who  would  not  tell  his  name, 
and  who  insisted  upon  seeing  the  master  of  the  house. 
The  stranger  was  admitted  to  the  old  man's  room, 
where  he  expressed  great  joy  in  seeing  his  host  alive 
and  in  health.  The  host  did  not  recognize  his  guest, 
and,  excusing  himself  by  a  plea  of  failing  sight,  in- 
quired his  name.  The  guest  replied  that  he  was  a 
sincere  friend,  an  honest  man,  and  rich  enough  to 
bring  many  such  gifts.  The  host  responded  that  he 
could  not  accept  gifts  without  knowing  to  whom  he 
thus  put  himself  under  obligation  ;  and  that  unless  he 
knew  his  name  he  could  not  show  to  him  the  same 
courtesy  as  to  earlier  comers  by  inviting  him  to 
sup  with  him  that  evening  in  his  hall.  Upon  this  the 
visitor  suggested  that  his  host  might  invite  him  by 


A  Polite  Idiosyncrasy.  159 


saying,  "  Will  the  gentleman  that  was  on  the  roof- 
beam  partake  of  refreshments  ?  "  Then  he  told  how 
he,  the  thief,  had,  under  the  influence  of  his  host's 
gentleness,  repented  him  of  evil ;  had  used  in  foreign 
trade  the  coins  given  to  him  ;  had  prospered,  and  had 
practised  truth  and  mercy.  He  stayed  to  banquet 
with  the  other  guests,  and  among  them  all  none  were 
more  happy  than  he  and  his  benignant  host. 

The  next  speaker  received  undivided  attention  from  Pearl, 
because  she  fancied  that  he  looked  a  Httle  as  Golden  Branch 
might  do  at  the  same  age.  His  eyes  were  extremely  and 
beautifully  oblique ;  his  forehead  broad,  and  his  nose  well 
defined.  As  he  permitted  his  moustache  to  grow,  he  was 
doubtless  over  thirty  and  a  grandfather.  He  wore  black 
satin  shoes,  yellow  satin  leggins,  a  green  silk  tunic,  and  a 
mauve  crepe  sleeveless  overcoat.  His  attire  was  modish, 
being  in  such  fashion  as  has  prevailed  within  two  hundred 
years ;  and  the  button  on  his  cap  indicated  that  it  was  of 
recent  manufacture,  and  that  he  was  a  man  of  rank.  His 
unbrowned  olive  complexion  indicated  that  he  generally 
dwelt  indoors,  and  his  finger-nails,  two  inches  long  on  the 
left  hand,  denoted  his  literary  occupation.  He  said  he 
regretted  being  unable  to  relate  to  his  listeners  anything 
more  worthy  of  their  attention  than  an  anecdote  about 

A    POLITE   IDIOSYNCRASY 

An  old  woman  went  to  visit  a  married  daughter 
who  lived  with  her  husband's  mother.  She  found  all 
the    family    absent,    except    her   daughter,   and    her 


i6o  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


daughter's  mother-in-law.  The  mother  was  invited 
to  stay  and  take  supper  with  the  other  two  women, 
and  just  after  nightfall,  the  three  sat  down  to  take 
their  evening  meal  together.  They  were  barely 
seated  at  the  table,  when  a  gust  of  wind  blew  out  the 
lamp  and  they  were  left  in  darkness.  The  mother-in- 
law  said:  "Sit  still,  both  of  you,  and  I  will  go  and 
light  the  lamp."  But  while  she  was  speaking  the 
daughter  took  the  lamp  and  went  away  to  light  it. 

The  mother,  supposing  that  the  mother-in-law  had 
gone,  and  that  her  daughter  sat  beside  her  in  the 
dark,  hastened  to  say  that,  during  meals,  a  guest 
should  be  served  with  the  choicest  of  the  viands.  That 
side  of  the  platter  holding  the  tenderest  portions  of 
the  meat,  and  that  side  of  the  dish  on  which  lay  the 
ripest  of  the  fruit,  should  be  turned  toward  the  guest, 
so  that  the  best  might  be  taken,  without  an  appear- 
ance of  greediness.  If  the  guest  were  one's  own 
mother,  then  filial  piety,  as  well  as  hospitality,  re- 
quired that  these  attentions  should  be  scrupulously 
bestowed.  She  had  scarcely  given  these  instructions 
when  the  light  reappeared,  and  she  discovered  that 
she  had  been  talking,  not  to  her  daughter,  but  to  her 
son-in-law's  mother  !  Horrified  by  her  mistake,  she 
at  once  cast  about  in  her  own  mind  for  a  way  of 
recovering  the  mother-in-law's  respect,  and  then  said  : 


A  Polite  Idiosyncrasy.  i6i 


■**  I  have  a  curious  peculiarity  which  has  afflicted  me 
all  my  life.  If,  at  any  time,  the  light  suddenly  goes 
out,  and  I  am  left  in  the  dark,  my  mind  wanders  and 
I  talk  without  purpose  till  the  light  reappears." 
^'Ah,"  responded  the  mother-in-law,  "I  wholly  un- 
derstand a  peculiarity  of  that  sort,  for  I  myself  have 
a  somewhat  similar  one.  Whenever  the  lamp  goes 
out  in  the  evening,  I  at  once  become  stone-deaf,  and 
only  recover  my  hearing  after  the  lamp  is  again 
lighted  ! " 

The  captain  of  the  boat  said  that  before  telling  his  story, 
which  he  had  already  thought  of,  he  would  recount  a  recent 
experience  of  one  of  his  neighbors.  It  was  that  of  a  farmer 
who  sold  a  superannuated  olive  tree  to  a  villager,  expecting 
that  it  would  be  cut  down  and  used  root  and  branch  for  fuel. 
Some  months  after  the  sale,  the  farmer  found  the  stump  and 
roots  of  the  tree  remaining  on  his  land,  and  so  went  to  the 
villager  to  inquire  why  he  did  not  remove  them,  according 
to  agreement.  The  purchaser  said  that  he  would  give  the 
remainder  of  the  tree  to  the  owner  of  the  land,  because  he 
himself  dared  not  dig  out  the  roots.  He  had,  with  the  help 
of  several  men,  begun  to  do  so,  but  no  sooner  had  they 
begun  to  dig,  than  they  came  upon  some  mason-work,  and 
concluded  that  there  was  an  ancient  grave  under  the  roots. 
The  first  man  who  dug,  was  at  once  taken  with  a  griping 
pain,  so  that  he  soon  left  his  work.  The  others  thought  this 
pain  might  be  caused  by  something  he  had  eaten,  and  went 
on  with  their  chopping.  The  man  who  took  the  place  of 
the  disabled  digger  was  likewise  soon  attacked  with  his 
ailment,  and  went  off  with  the  same  ache.     The  other  men 


1 62  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


were  then  afraid  to  further  disturb  the  resting-place  of  the 
dead,  and  they  all  declined  to  dig  longer.  The  work  was 
therefore  abandoned,  and  was  not  resumed. 

The  farmer,  having  formally  received  the  remainder  of  the 
tree  as  a  gift,  went  with  spirit-money  and  incense,  appealed 
to  the  spirit  of  the  departed,  and  promised  on  his  knees 
that  if  in  digging  he  should  injure  the  grave,  he  would  make 
a  new  one,  carefully  collect  the  bones,  and  give  them  solemn 
interment.  Supposing  himself  to  have  thus  secured  himself 
against  any  rash  attack  from  the  departed,  he  cautiously  dug 
out  the  stump  and  roots,  and  found  that  the  mason-work 
underneath,  was  the  curb  of  an  old  well.  This  well,  as  he 
afterward  learned  from  an  aged  relative,  had  been  long  ago 
filled  up,  and  the  olive  tree  had  been  planted  within  its  curb. 

The  man  who  had  reminded  Pearl  of  Golden  Branch,  said 
he  believed  not  only,  what  the  old  proverb  declares,  that 
"  The  imagination  produces  ghosts,"  but  that  the  imagina- 
tion also  often  creates  the  effects  that  are  ascribed  to 
departed  spirits.  He  thought  there  had  been  such  a  case  in 
his  own  family.  His  maternal  grandmother  had,  in  her  early 
married  life,  had  reason  to  doubt  her  husband's  loyalty,  and 
she  had  never  during  all  the  succeeding  years  forgotten  or 
forgiven  his  sin  against  her.  She  had,  however,  never  dared 
to  revile  him,  because  she  knew  his  strength  and  his  hot 
temper.  When  he  died  the  children  were  all  grown  up,  and 
both  he  and  she  were  very  old.  As  soon  as  he  was  dead^ 
she  went  and  expressed  to  the  corpse  her  long-pent-up  mind. 
She  told  it  that  for  many  long  years  she  had  swallowed  her 
feelings,  but  that  now  she  would  take  the  opportunity  of 
safely  letting  them  out  in  words.  She  reviled  her  dead  hus- 
band to  her  heart's  content.  But  before  she  had  departed 
from  the  room,  she  was  seized  with  griping  pain,  and  was 
obliged  to  take  to  her  bed,  where  she  rolled  in  anguish. 
Her  children  besought  her  to  go  and  apologize  to  the  corpse 


Verified  Predictions.  163 


so  that  she  might  not  die  and  thus  give  them  the  trouble  of 
a  double  funeral.  She  declared  that  she  would  die  sooner 
than  retract  her  words.  Her  sons  got  down  on  their  knees 
and  besought  her  to  heed  them,  and  they  finally  lifted  and 
bore  her  to  the  side  of  the  corpse  to  make  her  confession. 
She  did  it,  with  bad  grace,  but  having  done  it,  she  imme- 
diately began  to  recover.  For  years  afterward  she  at  times 
scolded  her  sons  for  having  carried  her  to  confession,  saying 
that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  died  rather  than 
make  apology  to  that  **  dog." 

Several  voices  now  demanded  the  captain's  delayed  story, 
and  he  told  them  of  some 


VERIFIED  PREDICTIONS. 

A  STROLLING  fortune-teller,  who  feigned  blindness, 
came  one  morning  to  a  house  where  there  was  only 
a  woman  at  home,  and  sat  down  in  the  paved  court, 
on  the  short  end  of  the  horizontal  beam  of  a  rice- 
pounder.  The  woman  came  and  sat  on  the  other  end 
of  the  rice-pounder,  and  asked  him  about  her  future. 
He  saw  that  she  was  stout,  and  he  told  her  that  she 
would  soon  have  gold  enough  to  fill  all  her  dimples. 
She  was  pleased  with  the  prognostication,  and  thought 
him  wonderfully  gifted  because  he,  in  spite  of  his  blind- 
ness, perceived  that  she  had  dimples  ;  so  she  asked 
him  for  a  fuller  augury.  Perceiving  that  she  was 
one  who  could  be  caught  by  guile,  he  told  her  that, 
although  she  would  generally   be   prosperous,    two 


164  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


calamities  were  impending  over  her,  one  slight  and 
near  at  hand,  the  other  great  and  not  very  distant. 
Then,  in  response  to  her  anxious  appeal,  he  confessed 
that,  if  a  peck  of  rice  and  an  ounce  of  silver  were 
given  him,  he  could  exercise  an  art  whereby  both 
calamities  might  be  averted.  She  told  him  she  could 
give  him  the  peck  of  rice  which  her  husband  had 
bought  the  previous  day,  but  she  had  not  even  the 
smallest  piece  of  silver  in  the  house.  She  begged 
him  to  exercise  his  powers,  taking  the  rice  only,  but 
he  replied  that  what  he  had  mentioned  was  no  more 
than  was  necessary,  and  he  could  not  stay  to  be 
teased.  As  he  got  up  to  go,  his  end  of  the  rice- 
pounder  went  up,  while  hers,  of  course,  went  down 
with  a  thud,  and  she  was  severely  hurt.  She  at  once 
said  to  herself  :  ''  Here  Is  the  first  of  the  two  misfor- 
tunes which  he  foretold.  He  is  certainly  a  wizard, 
and  I  must  get  him  to  ward  off  the  greater  calamity 
which  is  coming."  As  soon  as  she  could  recover 
herself,  she  ran  after  him,  and  asked  him  whether 
her  new  coverlet,  worth  an  ounce  and  a  half  of  silver, 
would  not  compensate  him  for  his  exertion  In  her 
behalf.  After  a  little  demur,  he  consented  to  take 
the  coverlet  In  lieu  of  the  silver,  and  as  he  was  going 
off  with  It  and  the  peck  of  rice,  he  told  her  that  during 
the  day  she  would  meet  with  trouble  in  which  a  car- 


A    BLIND    FORTUNE-TELLER. 
165 


Verified   Predictions.  167 


rying-pole  would  take  part,  and  that  during  the  com- 
ing night  she  would  suffer  much  discomfort  from  a 
pillow.  She  replied  that  small  troubles  were  easily- 
borne,  and  that  her  mind  was  at  ease,  now  that  he 
was  going  to  forestall  the  great  calamity  he  had  fore- 
seen. The  fortune-teller  then  went  his  way,  and 
the  woman  returned  to  her  housework. 

When  her  husband,  who  was  a  porter,  came  home 
to  get  his  noon-day  meal,  she  told  him  that  the  rice 
was  all  gone,  and  that  he  must  buy  some  more  before 
supper-time.  He  inquired  what  had  become  of  the 
peck  he  bought  the  day  before,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  own  that  she  had  given  it  to  a  fortune-teller.  Her 
husband,  who  was  not  a  believer  in  fortune-telling, 
took  his  carrying-pole  and  beat  her  soundly,  she  as- 
serting, meanwhile  :  ''  The  prediction  is  fulfilled  ; 
the  prediction  is  fulfilled."  That  night  proved  to  be 
a  cool  one,  and,  after  the  couple  were  in  bed,  the 
husband  called  for  the  coverlet.  The  wife  had  to 
confess  that  it  had  been  bestowed  upon  the  fortune- 
teller, and  her  tired  and  chilly  husband  beat  her  with 
the  pillow,  while  she  exclaimed  :  '*  What  a  marvel- 
lous foresight  that  blind  man  had  !  Now,  all  that  he 
presaged  has  come  to  pass  ! " 

Some  comments  were  here  made  by  several  persons  on  the 
superstitions  of  women  and  the  amount  of  money  which  they 


1 68  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


'  wasted  in  trying  to  ascertain  future  events,  and  then  a  mili- 
tary man,  who  had  been  up  to  the  capital  for  examination, 
and  had  received  a  high  commendation  for  his  proficiency  in 
shooting  with  a  bow  from  on  horseback,  was  called  on  to 
contribute  to  the  evening's  amusement.  He  pondered  a 
little,  and  then  told  the  story  of 


THE  THREE  SWORN  BROTHERS. 

Three  orphan  beggar-boys  made  a  compact  of  eter- 
nal brotherhood,  each  averring  that  whenever  pros- 
perity came  to  him  he  would  share  his  good  fortune 
with  the  other  two.  They  told  their  ages,  put  three 
handfuls  of  sand  in  one  heap,  and  swore  upon  it, 
before  high  Heaven,  that  they  three  would  form  one 
family.  Thereafter  they  slept  together  under  one 
coverlet,  boiled  their  potatoes  in  the  same  pot,  and 
shared  whatever  luck  came.  As  they  grew  up  toward 
manhood,  they  talked  of  separating  to  seek  their  for- 
tunes in  different  directions,  always  agreeing  that  he 
who  first  gained  wealth  or  distinction  would  notify 
his  brothers.  After  much  discussion  of  the  subject 
they  parted.  The  eldest  and  the  youngest  continued 
begging.  The  second  in  age  joined  the  army,  went 
with  it  to  subdue  rebels  on  the  frontier,  got  promo- 
tion for  bravery,  and  finally  became  commandant. 
In  the  course  of  years  his  military  exploits  became 


The  Three  Sworn   Brothers.      169 


known  throughout  the  empire.  When  the  war  ended, 
he  was  appointed  governor  of  a  province,  and  in  this 
post  he  evinced  such  ability  that  his  name  was  in 
everybody's  mouth.  His  fame  reached  even  to  the 
ears  of  his  adopted  brothers.  They  conferred  with 
each  other,  and  decided  that  they  would  journey  to 
his  palace,  and  suggest  the  fulfilment  of  the  old  vow. 
On  their  reaching  the  gates  of  the  gubernatorial  resi- 
dence, the  elder  of  the  two  claimed,  on  the  ground  of 
his  seniority,  the  right  of  making  the  first  appeal  to 
the  quondam  brother.  A  trial  was  going  on  and  he 
went,  in  his  rags,  into  the  court,  placed  himself  in 
front  of  the  spectators,  and  gazed  so  intently  at  the 
governor  that  he  soon  gained  his  attention.  The 
governor  recognized  him,  but  did  not  wish  to  publicly 
acknowledge  the  acquaintance,  and  so  did  not  speak 
to  him.  Finding  himself  ignored,  the  beggar  waited 
until  there  was  a  cessation  of  business,  and  then  he 
pressed  forward,  exclaiming  :  'T  am  your  elder  brother. 
When  we  were  boys  you  looked  to  me  for  advice  ;  and 
I  often  gave  you  half  my  dole."  The  governor,  un- 
willing to  have  his  early  history  set  before  his  present 
associates,  ordered  the  lictors  to  drive  the  beggar 
away.  But,  believing  that  he  was  not  recognized,  the 
poor  man  shouted  :  '*  Don't  you  remember  that  when 
we  were  beggars  together  we  swore  we  would  befriend 


I  70  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


each  other  forever  ?  "  The  governor  commanded  the 
lictors  to  beat  the  crazy  vagabond,  and  they  did  it 
with  a  will.  The  more  he  was  beaten,  the  more  he 
tried  to  recall  himself  to  the  governor's  mind,  by  nar- 
rating incidents  in  their  early  life,  such  as  the  robbing 
of  hen-roosts,  and  the  pilfering  of  orchards,  and  the 
more  the  governor  frowned,  the  harder  the  lictors 
struck. 

Meantime,  the  youngest  brother,  waiting  outside 
the  gates,  thought  that  the  two  had,  in  the  joy  of 
reunion,  forgotten  him.  When  the  eldest,  bruised 
and  draggled,  was  pushed  through  the  outer  gate,  the 
youngest  entreated  him  to  tell  what  was  the  matter. 
*'  Come  away,"  said  the  eldest  ;  "  do  not  speak  a  word, 
but  come  quickly.  He  is  proud  and  dangerous,  and 
our  lives  depend  on  our  speedy  escape."  As  they 
went  he  related  all  that  had  occurred.  After  hearing 
the  tale,  the  youngest,  in  spite  of  dissuasion,  left  the 
eldest  to  go  his  way,  and  turned  back  to  the  palace. 
He  made  his  way  into  the  court-room,  stood  in  the 
front  rank  of  spectators,  and  when  he  perceived  that 
he  was  recognized,  he  greeted  the  governor  very  def- 
erentially, and  said  :  "  You  do  not  remember  me  ;  but 
years  ago  we  were  fellow-soldiers.  I  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  enemy  in  a  foray,  and  by  your  personal 
prowess  you  set  me  free.     I  am  poor,  but  I  have  come 


The  Peasant-Girl's  Prisoner.    171 


a  long  way  to  pay  my  respects  to  you."  The  faces  of 
all  in  the  court  expressed  interest  in  the  veteran,  res- 
cued from  death  by  their  governor,  about  whose 
courage  in  battle  they  had  often  heard.  The  gov- 
ernor greeted  him  kindly,  ordered  food  and  clothing 
for  him,  gave  him  an  office,  and  ever  after  treated  him 
as  an  old  comrade  in  arms. 

All  in  the  group  had  now  narrated  some  tale,  except  a 
pale  lad,  who  sat  near  Pearl  and  who  looked  as  if  he  might 
be  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  literary  honors.  He  leaned 
on  a  bundle  of  books,  and  said  he  would  relate  the  little 
fiction  of 


THE  PEASANT -GIRL'S   PRISONER. 

A  JAUNTY  young  student  on  his  way  to  the  exami- 
nations in  his  district-city  met  in  a  narrow  path  a 
young  woman  carrying  wood.  He  said  to  himself, 
*'  She  is  a  peasant,  a  woman,  and  young  ;  those  are 
three  good  reasons  why  she  should  yield  the  road  to 
me."  She  said  to  herself  :  "  He  is  empty-handed,  and 
I  am  a  burden-bearer ;  he  must  therefore  make  way 
for  me  to  pass."  So  the  two,  each  determined  that 
the  other  should  step  aside,  came  face  to  face  and 
halted.  The  stoppage  soon  became  irksome,  and  the 
woman  proposed  to  settle  the  question  by  a  rhyming 


172  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


bout,  in  which  she  would  give  the  word  for  which  he 
should  furnish  the  rhyme.  If  he  rhymed  aptly,  she 
would  follow  him  as  his  servant ;  if  he  failed,  he 
should  follow  her,  and  do  her  bidding.  Never  doubt- 
ing that  he  could  make  a  rhyme  on  any  subject  she 
could  mention,  he  hastily  assented  ;  whereupon  she 
threw  off  her  splint  hat,  set  down  her  wood,  took  her 
carrying-pole  from  her  shoulder,  placed  it  vertically 
before  her,  and  awaited  his  response  to  her  unspoken 
word.  The  student  was  perplexed,  and  vainly  gazed 
at  the  pole. 

"  Come,"  said  she,  "  my  target  is  placed  ;  why  do 
you  not  shoot  ?  Since  you  are  a  literary  man,  and  I 
am  only  a  poor  peasant-girl,  you  should  be  able  to 
compose  a  stanza  on  any  subject  I  suggest." 

The  young  fellow  became  more  confused  under  her 
teasing,  and  finding  himself  unable  to  make  a  verse, 
told  her  to  go  home  and  he  would  follow  as  her  serv- 
ant. She  made  him  carry  the  wood,  and  after  they 
reached  her  cabin  by  the  bank  of  a  river  she  sent  him 
to  draw  water,  wash  clothes,  and  do  all  sorts  of 
menial  work.  Days  passed,  and  still  he  could  devise 
no  appropriate  couplet  on  the  carrying-pole. 

One  day,  when  he  was  on  the  river  bank  washing 
vegetables,  a  boat  went  by  full  of  merry  young  men 
returning  homeward  from  the  examinations.     One  of 


PEASANT-QIRL  AND  STUDENT. 


The  Peasant-Girl's  Prisoner.    175 


the  passengers  seeing  and  recognizing  him,  hailed  him 
as  his  lost  chum,  and  landed  to  inquire  why  he  was 
there  washing  vegetables,  when  all  at  the  examina- 
tions were  wondering  at  his  absence,  and  fearing  that 
he  had  met  with  some  grave  accident.  He  thereupon 
told  his  story  to  his  friend,  and  thus  explained  his  sad 
plight. 

His  friend  said :  "  Go  and  ask  your  peasant  to  allow 
me  to  try  my  skill  on  the  pole." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  the  captive  ;  "  you  will  fail  as  I  have 
done,  and  then  this  vixen  will  have  two  slaves  instead 
of  one." 

"  Never  mind,"  responded  his  friend  ;  *'  I  will  take 
the  chance  of  freeing  you  or  of  becoming  your  com- 
panion in  servitude.  Go  and  bring  the  girl  out  for  a 
parley." 

The  girl  received  the  new-comer  complacently, 
heard  his  proposition  that  he  should  in  his  friend's 
stead  make  a  rhyme  to  her  subject,  with  the  condition 
that  if  he  failed  both  should  be  her  slaves,  while  if  he 
succeeded  she  should  free  her  present  slave  and  be- 
come the  rhymester's  wife. 

Again  she  placed  her  carrying-pole  before  her,  and 
at  once  the  student  responded  : 

"Wood  like  this  may  be  found  on  the  hills  everywhere  ; 
In  a  flock  of  white  cranes  each  is  one  of  a  pair." 


176  The  Strayed  Arrow 


She  could  not  dispute  the  accuracy  of  the  statement 
in  the  first  Hne  of  the  couplet,  and  perceiving  in  the 
second  line  the  assertion  that  she  was  the  mate  of  this 
bird  of  passage,  she  prepared  to  follow  his  fortunes. 

The  boat  was  sailing  quietly  before  the  wind,  its  two  eyes 
directed  J^ell  to  its  destination,  and  its  sails  of  plaited  straw 
spread  to  their  full  extent.  The  passengers  dropped  off  to 
sleep,  with  their  heads  upon  their  snug  bundles  of  clothing. 

The  next  day  Pearl  arrived  at  the  inn  where  Marigold 
awaited  her,  and  delivered  to  the  innkeeper  the  balance  of 
the  money,  and  the  scores  of  pounds  of  pastry  and  meats, 
usually  transferred  to  a  parent  when  a  bride  is  taken  from 
his  house.  Marigold  joyously  accompanied  Pearl  to  her 
native  village,  where  Mrs.  Summers  took  her  into  her  care, 
and  received  from  Pearl  a  full  explanation  of  her  own  de- 
signs, mishaps,  and  desires.  Pearl  managed  to  give  Marigold 
a  peep,  through  a  splint  curtain,  at  Grouse,  and  then,  appear- 
ing before  her  in  feminine  attire,  asked  her  whether  she 
would  like  to  have  Grouse  or  herself  as  a  husband.  Mari- 
gold wisely  decided  that  she  did  not  wish  to  marry  a  woman  ; 
but  expressed  great  fear  of  going  into  an  unknown  family. 

Mrs.  Summers  gave  her  much  instruction  concerning  her 
duties  as  daughter-in-law  ;  taught  her  how  to  dress  her  hair 
in  a  high  coiffure,  how  to  make  obeisance  to  superiors,  how 
to  darn  neatly,  how  to  cut  decorations  for  pastry  from  red 
paper,  how  to  make  flowers  for  the  hair  from  floss  silk,  how 
to  lament  for  the  dead,  how  to  congratulate  the  fortunate, 
and  many  other  accomplishments. 

Mrs.  Summers  determined  that  the  friendless  girl  should 
have  a  bridal  outfit  that  would  win  respect  from  the  people 
among  whom  she  would  live,  and  while  this  was  being  made 
in  the  house,  the  mother,  daughter,  and  adopted  sister,  in 


Crabs  in  Plenty.  177 


the  seclusion  of  the  women's  apartments,  had  many  pleasant 
hours  together.  One  evening,  after  planning  the  next  day's 
sewing,  Mrs.  Summers  told  them  the  story  of 

CRABS  IN   PLENTY. 

A  MAN  married  his  daughter  into  a '  prosperous 
family  about  a  league  away.  The  girl  had^n  her 
father's  house  been  accustomed  to  use  everything 
without  stint  and  without  reproach.  The  family  into 
which  she  married  was  strict  in  its  notions  and  exact 
in  its  ways.  Though  there  were  many  dishes  at  each 
meal,  all  the  leavings  were  put  away,  and  were  re- 
peatedly brought  on  until  they  were  eaten  up,  and 
no  one  was  expected  to  eat  anything  except  at  meal- 
times and  at  the  table. 

Soon  after  the  bride  entered  her  father-in-law's 
household  they  had  boiled  salt  crabs  as  a  side-dish, 
and  after  the  bride  had  set  them  upon  the  table  many 
times,  and  there  were  but  two  or  three  left,  she 
thought  it  not  worth  while  to  keep  them  longer,  and 
so  finished  them  herself  and  threw  away  the  shells. 
At  the  next  meal  her  father-in-law  called  for  the 
crabs,  and  she  was  obliged  to  explain  their  absence. 
Her  mother-in-law  commented  severely  on  the  ill- 
breeding  of  one  who  ate  privately,  and  said  they 
should  tell  her  parents  that  she  had  been  badly 
brought  up. 


178  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


She  at  once  secretly  despatched  a  handmaid,  who 
had  accompanied  her  from  her  father's  house,  to  tell 
her  parents  that  they  would  soon  hear  complaint  of 
her,  and  that  they  must  apologize  for  not  having 
taught  her  better  manners,  and  must  be  careful,  for 
her  sake,  not  to  anger  the  elders  in  her  husband's 
family.  Her  parents  having  learned  from  the  hand- 
maid the  cause  of  the  bickering,  sent  her  back  quickly, 
so  that  her  visit  to  them  might  not  be  known,  and 
then  bought  a  basketful  of  crabs,  which  they  poured 
into  a  covered  dry  ditch  near  the  front  door.  They 
told  a  servant  to  be  on  the  watch,  and  when  a  visitor 
should  come,  whom  they  should  address  as  Honored 
Relative,  to  begin  to  wash  the  door-steps,  using  plenty 
of  water. 

The  father-in-law  presently  arrived,  was  greeted  by 
the  father  with  great  affability,  and  invited  to  sit  near 
the  front  door.  The  father  kept  up  so  lively  a  con- 
versation on  other  topics  that  the  father-in-law  had 
no  opportunity  to  introduce  the  subject  that  was 
uppermost  in  his  mind.  A  servant  was  washing  the 
steps,  and  some  crabs  began  to  disport  themselves  in 
the  little  pools,  and  a  pig  that  was  loitering  about 
began  to  mouth  the  crabs.  The  father,  engrossed  in 
talking,  appeared  heedless  of  the  danger  to  the  crabs, 
until  the  father-in-law  called  his  attention  to  them, 
saying  that   some  one  must  have  upset  the  market- 


FATHER  AND  FATHER-IN-LAW. 
179 


False  Economy.  i8i 


basket,  for  the  crabs  were  running  about,  and  the  pig 
was  eating  them,  "  Never  mind,"  said  the  father, 
''a  few  crabs  are  of  no  consequence  ;  let  the  pig  eat 
them  if  he  Hkes  them."  The  father-in-law  soon  took 
his  leave,  went  home,  called  his  wife  into  their  private 
room,  and  said :  **  Do  not  say  anything  more  about 
the  crabs.  At  her  father's  house  they  have  crabs  in 
such  plenty  that  they  let  the  pigs  eat  them,  and  the 
only  reason  she  did  not  finish  them  sooner  was  be- 
cause she  thought  they  were  not  fit  to  eat.  She  has 
had  such  good  fare  in  her  father's  house  that  she 
thinks  our  leavings  are  of  no  value." 

Thereafter  the  family  was  less  rigorous  with  the 
new  daughter-in-law,  and  she  had  easier  times. 

Pearl  quoted  the  proverb,  "  In  buying  an  orchard  one 
should  consider  the  quahty  of  the  fruit  as  well  as  the  extent 
of  the  ground,"  and  remarked  that,  in  marriage,  people  too 
often  considered  what  amount  of  material  wealth  they 
should  thereby  possess,  when  they  ought  to  be  thinking 
what  sort  of  living  they  would  engage  in.  For  her  part,  she 
did  not  highly  esteem  what  could  not  be  transmuted  into 
happiness.  Many  a  woman  made  the  mistake  of  trying  to 
please  her  husband  by  the  practice  of  a 

FALSE  ECONOMY. 

There  were  two  women  whose  houses  adjoined, 
and  whose  husbands  were  both  in  foreign  parts. 
The   one  woman   cooked   substantial   and  sufificient 


1 82  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


food,  on  which  she  lived  healthfully,  eating  a  good 
meal  three  times  a  day,  and  using  the  greater  part  of 
her  time  in  earning  something,  whereby  she  made 
her  house  more  comfortable.  The  other  woman 
thought  her  neighbor  extravagant  in  the  use  of  fuel, 
food  and  light  and  considered  herself  extremely 
frugal,  because  she  ate  slight  repasts,  and,  to  save 
buying  lampwick,  pulled  bits  of  cotton  out  of  her 
coverlet,  and  twisted  them  up  to  burn  in  her  oil. 

When  the  two  husbands  returned  together  from 
abroad,  the  one  woman  was  well  and  cheerful, 
received  the  traveller  in  a  well-furnished  home,  and 
showed  him  a  purse  of  money  that  she  had  saved  out 
of  what  he  had  sent  to  her  for  current  expenses. 
The  other  woman,  having  spent  most  of  her  time  in 
warming  up  the  slight  repasts  with  which  she  stayed 
her  stomach,  had  had  no  opportunity  to  do  much 
work,  and  had  grown  sickly  for  lack  of  proper 
nourishment.  She  had  laid  up  no  money  to  show 
her  husband  on  his  return  ;  and  when  he  went  to 
bed  at  night  he  inquired  why  the  coverlet  gave  no 
warmth,  and  was  told  by  his  wife  that,  wishing  to 
economize,  she  had  pulled  out  all  the  cotton  to  make 
lamp-wicks  ! 

Marigold  said  she  hoped  she  should  not  err  through  lack 
of  willingness  to  perform  all  her  duties  as  daughter-in-law 


^^ 


y' 


A  MAN  RETURNS  FROM  ABROAD. 
183 


The  Thriftless  Wife.  185 


and  wife,  but  her  relative,  the  innkeeper,  had  often  told  her 
that  she  was  not  thrifty.  She  remembered  a  story,  which 
proved  that  brains  were  as  necessary  as  wiUingness,  in  help- 
ing one's  husband.     It  was  about 


THE  THRIFTLESS  WIFE. 

Two  pedlars,  one  of  olives,  the  other  of  almanacs, 
had  homes  side  by  side.  The  olive  pedlar  had  a 
tidy,  careful  wife,  and,  even  when  times  were  hard 
and  trade  dull,  lived  comfortably  and  got  on  in  the 
world. 

The  vender  of  almanacs  had  a  stupid,  listless  wife, 
to  whom  he  often  held  up  her  industrious  neighbor 
as  an  example  worthy  of  her  imitation.  The  sloth- 
ful wife  soon  grew  tired  of  having  her  neighbor's 
good  traits  and  wise  doings  set  forth  for  her  edifica- 
tion, and  finally  came  to  hate  to  hear  her  name  or 
see  her  face. 

Things  had  gone  on  in  this  way  for  a  long  time, 
when  a  year  of  unusual  hardship  came  to  both  fam- 
ilies. All  Chinese  who  expect  to  retain  the  esteem 
of  their  acquaintances,  pay  their  debts  at  the  end  of 
the  year.  But  this  year  the  olive  pedlar  found  his 
debts  greater  than  his  means  of  payment.  After 
vainly  seeking  some  honest  way  of  meeting  his  obli- 
gations, he  came  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  and  told 


1 86  The  Strayed  Arrow, 


his  wife  of  his  pecuniary  embarrassments,  saying  that 
they  must  meet  poverty  and  disgrace  as  best  they 
could.  The  thrifty  wife  at  once  brought  out  a  great 
store  of  pickled  olives,  telling  her  husband  to  go  and 
sell  them  quickly  and  pay  his  debts.  He  asked 
where  she  got  all  these  olives,  and  she  replied  that 
she  had  every  day  taken  a  few  green  olives  from  his 
baskets,  before  he  started  on  his  daily  rounds,  and 
had  carefully  preserved  them  for  a  time  of  need.  As 
olives,  like  wine,  improve  by  age,  and  as  they  bring 
their  highest  price  at  New  Year,  the  pedlar  was,  by 
the  sale  of  the  pickled  olives,  enabled  to  pay  all  his 
debts,  and  to  retain  the  capital  and  the  credit  where- 
with to  carry  on  his  business  during  the  following 
year. 

The  vender  of  almanacs  had  also  lost  money 
during  the  year,  and  on  its  last  day  found  himself  in 
debt ;  but  his  wife  had  no  comfort  to  offer  him,  and 
he  began  the  new  year  poorer  and  more  wretched 
than  ever.  When  he  heard  how  his  neighbors 
wife  had  come  to  her  husband's  rescue  with  her 
pickled  olives,  he  again  reminded  his  own  wife  of 
her  habitual  uselessness,  and  lamented  that  he  had 
not,  like  his  neighbor,  a  real  helpmate  in  his  house. 
His  wife  thereupon  silently  determined  to  reform, 
and    set    herself   to    surprise    her    husband    by    hei 


The  Thriftless  Wife.  187 


economy  and  shrewdness.  So  when  at  the  end  of 
the  next  year  he  told  her  that  he  was  in  debt,  and 
without  means  of  payment,  she  went  into  her  room 
and  brought  out  several  full  bags,  which  she  threw 
down  at  her  husband's  feet,  telling  him  never  again 
to  call  her  a  thriftless  wife.  In  great  astonishment 
he  opened  the  bags,  and  poured  out  a  heap  of 
almanacs  for  the  year  that  was  ending.  He  asked 
where  she  got  all  these,  and  she  said  she  had  done 
as  her  neighbor  did  with  the  olives  ;  she  had  taken 
a  few  almanacs  daily  from  his  pack,  and  secretly 
stored  them  up  for  him  to  sell  at  the  end  of  the 
year. 

Of  course  the  books  were  then  unsalable,  and  the 
poor  pedlar  lost  all  that  he  had  paid  for  them ; 
while  his  stupid  wife  concluded  that,  having  imitated 
her  lauded  neighbor  and  got  nothing  but  blame  for 
it,  she  would  take  no  further  trouble  to  please  her 
exacting  husband. 


"  Do  not  trouble  yourself  too  much  about  the  future," 
said  Pearl  to  Marigold  ;  ''  Grouse  has  some  fine  traits,  and 
when  he  sees  your  sincerity  he  will  be  devoted  to  you,  as 
was  a  man,  that  I  heard  of,  to  a  wife  that  was  as  conscien- 
tious as  you  will  be." 

"  Tell  me  about  her,"  said  Marigold,  and  Pearl  told  the 
story  of 


1 88  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


A  WIFE  WITH  TWO  HUSBANDS. 

A  POOR  man,  who  had  an  old  mother  and  a  young 
wife,  left  them  in  his  homestead  and  went  to  a 
foreign  land,  in  the  hope  of  bettering  his  fortune. 
He  got  lucrative  employment,  and  every  year  he 
sent  home  as  much  as  would  comfortably  support 
his  wife  and  mother ;  but  the  agent  to  whom  he 
entrusted  the  money  for  transmission  kept  it  all,  and 
forged  a  return  letter  telling  him  of  its  reception  and 
of  the  welfare  of  his  relatives.  He  invested  wisely 
all  his  savings,  beyond  what  he  thought  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  the  two  women,  and  by  thrift  and 
industry,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  amassed  a 
competence. 

Meanwhile,  his  mother  and  his  wife  never  heard 
from  him,  and  thought  themselves  forsaken  by  him. 
The  wife  earned  what  she  could  by  sewing  and 
weaving,  and  took  care  of  the  aged  mother.  But 
provisions  grew  dearer,  the  mother  became  helpless, 
and  the  wife  ill.  Then  the  old  woman  died,  and  the 
younger  one  had  not  money  wherewith  to  buy  a 
coffin.  She  therefore  went  to  a  go-between  and  told 
him  to  find  for  her  an  honest  man  who  wanted  a 
wife,  and  who  would  at  once  advance  a  betrothal 
present  sufficient  to  meet  the  funeral  expenses  of  her 


A  Wife  with  Two  Husbands.      189 


mother-in-law,  and  who  would  wait  a  hundred  days 
for  the  completion  of  the  obsequies,  before  taking 
home  his  bride.  This  being  done,  the  old  mother 
was  properly  interred,  the  wife  locked  up  the  home- 
stead, and  was  carried  to  the  house  of  her  new 
partner.  She  was  a  good  wife  to  him,  and  he 
honored  and  loved  her.  Several  years  passed, 
and  the  first  husband  returned,  with  his  fortune, 
to  his  native  village.  He  had,  as  he  thought, 
recently  heard  from  his  home,  and  went  to  his 
door  expecting  to  be  greeted  by  his  mother  and 
wife.  The  door  was  locked,  the  house  dilapi- 
dated, and  the  yard  weed-grown.  He  inquired 
of  a  neighbor  what  had  happened,  and  as 
soon  as  he  was  recognized  he  was  fiercely  upbraided 
for  having  abandoned  his  family.  He  told  his  story, 
and  heard  for  the  first  time  of  his  mother's  death,  and 
of  his  wife's  marriage.  He  had  always  been  fond  of 
his  wife,  and  he  was  made  more  fond  by  her  faithful- 
ness to  his  mother  through  poverty  and  apparent 
desertion.  He  sought  her  in  her  new  abode,  told 
her  how  he  had  been  deceived,  and  begged  her  to  go 
home  with  him.  She  said  her  new  husband  was  kind 
to  her,  and  that  she  could  not  leave  him  to  sorrow. 
The  first  husband  then  conferred  with  the  second, 
declared  his  wrongs,  and  offered  half  his  fortune  for 


190  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


the  restoration  of  his  wife.  The  second  affirmed 
that  he  had  not  sought  the  wife,  but  had  taken  her  at 
her  own  request  and  in  legal  form  ;  that  she  was 
rightly  his,  that  he  preferred  her  to  a  fortune,  and 
would  never  give  her  up.  In  the  end  the  two  claim- 
ants of  the  wife  went  before  a  magistrate,  and  stated 
each  his  case.  The  wife  was  summoned,  with  other 
witnesses,  and  due  investigation  made.  After  all  the 
facts  had  been  set  forth,  to  the  honor  of  all  the  three 
principal  actors,  the  magistrate  decided  that  as  each 
of  the  two  men  had  just  reasons  for  considering  the 
woman  his  own,  and  as  neither  had  knowingly  violated 
any  law,  the  decision  of  the  case  should  be  left  to  the 
wife,  who  might  freely  take  her  choice,  between  the 
two  contestants  for  her.  The  wife  responded  that 
both  men  were  upright  and  affectionate,  and  had 
equally  strong  claims  upon  her  regard  ;  were  she  to 
choose  one  she  should  wrong  and  grieve  the  other. 
They  each  deserved  a  good  wife,  and  as  she  could 
not  be  a  wife  of  both,  she  would  leave  both  wifeless. 
She,  who  was  the  cause  of  their  troubles  would  die 
by  her  own  hand.  The  magistrate  commended  her 
judgment,  ordered  her  to  be  shut  up  fasting  in  a  cer- 
tain cell  overnight,  and  told  the  two  claimants  to 
return  the  next  morning  and  see  whether  she  should 
have  changed  her  mind.     When  the  two  came  into 


WORSHIPPING  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  AN  ANCESTOR. 
lyl 


<■         C     t     ^  I     ^   r.  »         trrf. 


A  Wife  with  Two  Husbands.      193 


court  next  day,  a  constable  was  sent  to  bring  the 
woman  from  her  cell,  to  give  her  final  decision  before 
the  magistrate.  The  constable  soon  came  back  alone, 
pale  and  shivering,  and  reported  that  she  hung  stark 
and  cold  from  a  beam  in  the  cell  where  she  had  been 
put  for  the  night.  The  two  husbands  went  under 
conduct  of  the  constable,  peered  in,  recognized  her 
figure  and  garments,  and  were  brought  back  to  be 
interrogated  by  the  magistrate  concerning  their 
respective  wishes.  They  were  informed  that  the  one 
who  wanted  her  could  now  have  her,  by  paying  to 
the  other  a  sum  sufficient  to  meet  the  expense  of 
getting  a  new  wife.  The  first  husband  thereupon 
fell  on  his  knees  and  besought  the  privilege  of  taking 
away  the  corpse.  The  second  preferred  no  request, 
and  when  the  magistrate  inquired  whether  he  also 
wished  to  take  part  in  the  funeral  rites,  he  replied 
that  his  contest  had  been  for  a  living,  not  for  a  dead 
woman. 

The  magistrate,  on  dismissing  the  woman  from  the 
court  on  the  previous  day,  had  secretly  sent  her  to 
his  wife's  apartments.  There  she  was  dressed  in 
borrowed  garments,  and  concealed  carefully,  while 
her  own  clothing  was  used  in  making  an  efifigy  which 
was  hung  upon  a  beam  in  the  cell  she  was  supposed 
to  occupy.     The  constable  saw  the  efifigy,  and  in  un- 


194  The  Strayed  Arrow. 


feigned  terror  reported  the  suicide  of  the  wife  to  the 
two  husbands.  The  wife  was  placed  where  she  heard 
her  first  husband's  plea  for  her  corpse,  and  she  then 
made  up  her  mind  that  she  ought  not  to  die.  She 
accompanied  the  husband,  leal  in  death  as  well  as  in 
life,  to  the  old  homestead,  where  she  and  he  with 
their  children  lived  happily  for  many  decades,  and 
worshipped  at  the  graves  of  his  ancestors. 

The  days  sped  quickly,  and  the  time  appointed  for  Mari- 
gold's marriage  to  Grouse  drew  nigh.  Pearl,  in  her  student's 
dress,  continued  to  frequent  her  grandmother's  house,  and 
while  there  she  had  met  Grouse  and  his  go-between,  and  had 
settled  all  the  preliminaries  of  the  wedding.  Grouse  took 
home  the  bride  with  all  the  elaborate  ceremonies  usual  at 
the  first  marriage  of  a  literary  man,  and  Marigold,  who  was 
seen  by  his  classmates  after  the  marriage  supper,  was  pro- 
nounced the  prettiest  bride  of  the  season. 

Pearl  continued  to  wear  her  student's  dress,  until  Golden 
Branch  returned  from  the  capital  and  asked  in  due  form  for 
her  hand,  and  then  her  new  costumes  formed  her  wedding 
outfit. 

She  travels  with  her  husband  when  his  official  duties  take 
him  to  distant  cities.  Her  boys  give  promise  of  taking  their 
literary  degrees  at  a  remarkably  early  age. 


FINIS. 


FAIRY  TALES  OF  THE  NATIONS 

ENGLISH  FAIRY  TALES. 

Collected  by  Joseph  Jacobs,  President  of  the  English  Folk-Lore 
Society.  Pictured  by  John  D.  Batten.  i2mo  .  •  $i  75 
"  The  stories  are  all  either  new  or  told  in  new  form,  and  the  book  as  a 
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CELTIC  FAIRV  TALES. 

Collected   by   Joseph   Jacobs. 
Uniform  with  above.     i2mo 


Pictured   by   John    D. 


Batten. 

|i  75 


"  Mr.  Jacobs  relates  their  marvels  racily  and  in  a  way  to  hold  the  ear  of 
either  a  child  or  a  student  of  this  fascinating  branch  of  folk-lore." — Chrii- 
tian  Union. 

INDIAN   FAIRY   TALES. 

Collected  and  edited  by  Joseph  Jacobs,   pictured  by  John  D. 

Batten.     i2mo $i  75 

"  His  works  are  always  entertaining  and  valuable,  and  his  series  of  fairy 
books  grows  in  interest  with  each  new  volume.  " — New  York  Post. 

CHINESE  NIGHTS  ENTERTAINMENTS. 

Forty  Tales  Related  by  Almond-Eyed  Folk.  Actors  in  the 
Romance  of  "The  Strayed  Arrow."  By  Adele  M.  Fielde.  With 
illustrations  by  Chinese  artists.     Uniform  with  above  volumes. 

i2mo $1  75 

(Ready  May,  i8gs.) 

THE    LIGHT   PRINCESS,  and  other  Fairy  Tales. 

By  George  MacDonald.  Illustrated  by  Maud  Humphrey. 
i2mo $1   75 


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